


Reading Percy Jackson: Book 3 - The Titan's Curse

by Lorixjake



Series: Reading Percy Jackson [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Book 3: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson), Characters reading the Percy Jackson books, Children of the Big Three (Percy Jackson), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff, Friendship, Gods become better parents, Humor, M/M, Protective Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Reading the Books, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 86,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27400156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorixjake/pseuds/Lorixjake
Summary: Having gotten through two books already, the Gods, demigods and others begin reading the third book.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Apollo & Percy Jackson, Clarisse La Rue/Chris Rodriguez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Hera/Zeus (Percy Jackson), Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Jason Grace & Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf, Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson
Series: Reading Percy Jackson [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834675
Comments: 254
Kudos: 712





	1. My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong

Everyone who didn’t know what happened was quite eager to hear about what Percy would do next. Annabeth was interested to see what had happened while she had been captured. She had heard from Thalia that Percy had been extremely upset when she was missing and part of her was sort of looking forward to hearing about it. Though she didn’t have massively high hopes, Annabeth was hoping that reading about how he had acted would make Percy realise he had feelings for her. Still, he was a boy and Percy so she wasn’t expecting much.

“Er, just a second. Nico, can I have a word?” Percy asked. Nico frowned but nodded. The two left the room while Poseidon stopped Zeus from grumbling.

“What’s up?” Nico asked though he had an idea.

“Well, the next big quest I went on was the one to rescue Annabeth and Artemis. Are you going to be ok hearing about Bianca? Nobody would mind if you sat this one out.” Nico gave a half smile that looked more like a grimace.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Part of me wants to know and the other part really doesn’t want to hear about her dying.” Percy felt sorry for the young boy who looked so lost. It was so easy to forget Nico was only twelve. While demigods were usually far more mature than their actual ages due to the lives they led, it was still far too young to hear about such things. 

“Alright. Well, I’m going to guess the two of you will be involved pretty much from the beginning as it all started when we came to pick you up. But I promise to let you know before we get to...that part and you can choose if you want to leave. If you do then I can give you the short version afterwards.”

“Thanks, Percy.” Nico smiled gratefully. He was glad he didn’t have to decide quite yet. He would see how hard it was hearing about Bianca when she was alive before hearing about her death. Percy squeezed his shoulders.

“What about your dad? Does he know what happens to Bianca?” Percy asked.

“No. I just told him I don’t know why she wasn’t chosen to come with us.” 

“Do you think you should warn him? I mean, quite a few Gods are going to have to hear about their kids dying when we get to the summer with the Labyrinth but it probably won’t be in as much detail as Bianca’s death.” 

“When you warn me it’s coming up, I’ll let him know.” Nico said. He didn’t want to talk about it before he had to. The older boy nodded. It was Nico’s decision. They waited a few more moments, letting Nico regain his composure.

“Come on, we’d best get back before Zeus throws a gasket.” Percy smirked. Nico chuckled and they went back into the room and took their seats. 

“Begin Hephaestus.” Zeus ordered irritably, before anyone else could say anything.

**My Rescue Operation Goes Terribly Wrong**

Immediately Nico, Percy, Thalia and Grover all grimaced. 

“You’re rescue operation?” Annabeth asked in a teasing voice, trying to lighten the grim mood.

“Well, it went badly so let him take the blame.” Thalia said, smirking at Percy. He stuck his tongue out.

“You clearly wanted to be in charge. So that makes it your operation.” He pointed out.

“Yeah but it’s probably Percy’s luck that makes it go wrong.” Connor stated with a chuckle. Percy mock glared at him.

**The Friday before...boarding school.**

“Just your usual equipment for going to school.” Travis said with a raised eyebrow.

“It is when there is a monster at said school.” Annabeth pointed out.

**We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.**

“Aww, how cute. You thought we were friends already.” Thalia smirked.

“Frenemies.” Percy corrected himself. 

“I thought that was you and Clarisse?” Will asked.

“It suited me and Thalia to begin with as well.” Percy told him.

“Yes, it did.” Grover stated, recalling their fight after Capture the Flag.

**It was an eight-hour...tell about me.**

Percy groaned loudly.

“Oooh, we have to hear these.” Connor said eagerly.

“Yes, please tell us.” Travis added. They looked pleadingly towards Thalia and Annabeth.

“I want to hear this as well.” Clarisse grinned evilly.

“Don’t even think about it.” Percy warned them. They could tell by the look on his face that he was actually serious about that and neither of them wanted to truly upset Percy. “Frankly, the fact that you guys are reading all of my private thoughts is embarrassing enough. You don’t need to be telling them anything else.” That was also a fair point.

“Sorry guys.” Thalia said. “No can do.” The Stolls both pouted. 

**Thalia wiped the...on the other.**

“Definitely sounds like a castle out of a horror movie.” Rachel commented.

“A bad movie.” Will corrected.

**"Are you sure...to my battles.**

A few people snickered.

“Hey, it’s better than having to find your own transport.” Grover pointed out.

“Exactly. It would have taken too long to get to Maine otherwise.” Thalia agreed. “Grover had said it was an emergency.”

**"It's okay, Ms. Jackson."...to like it.**

A few more people sniggered.

“Your mom isn’t wrong.” Grover snickered.

“Whatever makes my mom relax a bit is fine by me.” Percy replied.

**"All right, dears,"...to contact camp?"**

Most of the demigods laughed, if only to cover up their jealousy. Not only did Percy have the best relationship with his Godly parent, but his mortal one also was amazing. 

“I wouldn’t put it past you to have forgotten something.” Thalia pointed out with a laugh.

“True but mom already asked me all of those questions before we left home.” Percy grumbled.

**"Mom, seriously!...of that car.**

“I probably would be wanting to get out too.” Will said, giving Percy a sympathetic look.

“I’d love to have my mom around to fuss like that.” Frank muttered to Hazel. She squeezed his arm.

**If my mom told...myself to death.**

“We need pictures of this.” Rachel grinned. She was willing to bet Percy was an incredibly cute kid, considering how good looking he was now.

“Those were the best stories.” Annabeth smirked wickedly. Percy glared.

**Annabeth and Thalia...like ice daggers.**

“That’s pretty cold.” Dakota whistled.

“Yep.” Percy nodded.

**Once my mother's...so cool, Percy."**

“She really is.” Nico nodded. Most of the other demigods thought about their own mortal parents. 

**"She's pretty okay,"...perfect evil "ten."**

“Glad to know you find me scary.” Thalia smirked. Jason didn’t admit he’d been thinking the same question. When he and Thalia had talked the other night, she had carefully avoided any questions about their mother. Given her reluctance to discuss it, he assumed their mother was dead but it would still be nice to hear about her.

“To be fair, it was a reasonable question.” Gwen pointed out. “If my friends had met my dad, I’d be curious about their parents too.” 

**"If that was any...I guessed.**

“Gee, thanks.” Nico grumbled jokingly. Percy smiled, pleased to see he seemed to be ok so far. 

“I was right.” Percy laughed. “But I think I meant the monster.”

**The oak doors...like overkill. Literally.**

“That sounds pretty cool.” Clarisse grinned.

“What kind of a school is that?” Athena frowned. 

“A horrible one.” Nico muttered. Hades sighed. Maybe he should take more care when deciding where to put his children when they finally can be taken from the Lotus Casino.

**My hand went...A fight was coming.**

“If you are both feeling that way then it is likely the monster is both old and very dangerous.” Poseidon frowned.

**Annabeth started...behind us.**

“That’s a bit creepy.” Piper muttered.

“More than a bit.” Leo replied.

**"Oo-kay," I mumbled...like dance music.**

“What?” Reyna frowned.

“School dance.” Nico grimaced. 

**We stashed our...school at night.**

“Really?” Athena scowled. “I would hope security would question three children sneaking into a school.”

“I had it covered.” Thalia assured the wisdom Goddess. Percy scowled. 

“You could have at least mentioned that.” He complained.

“I didn’t realise Chiron hadn’t shown you.” She shrugged. Percy’s scowl deepened and Chiron sighed.

**We hadn't talked...on the walls.**

“Not your imagination.” Annabeth told him.

“I know that now.” Percy said sharply. 

**"Oh, but we're...in the eighth grade."**

“That won’t work if one of them is a monster. It’ll just give away the fact your are demigods.” Demeter noted.

“Well it was that or be thrown out.” Thalia shrugged.

**The male teacher...Thalia was thinking.**

Now Poseidon frowned. “You didn’t even teach him that it was possible to manipulate the mist?” He asked Chiron. “Or how to spot when it is being manipulated?” 

“It was an oversight on my part.” Chiron admitted.

“One that still hasn’t been corrected.” Percy muttered bitterly.

“They don’t teach anything like that at Camp Jupiter.” Reyna noted.

“How about I teach those of you who don’t know how during a break?” Chiron suggested. All the demigods nodded.

**Now we'd probably...to be kidding.**

“Really, Percy?” Annabeth asked in exasperation.

“I can’t help my thoughts.” He pointed out defensively. 

“Trust a male to be so easily distracted.” Artemis scoffed.

**The woman blinked...students live here."**

“Good going Grover.” Clarisse said sarcastically.

**Grover swallowed...And they made it!"**

“Not your worst lie.” Travis said consideringly. 

  
“Grover has gotten a lot better.” Percy nodded.

“He could still do with some lessons.” Connor stated. Grover tried to say he was fine without them but the Stolls insisted until he gave in.

**Dr. Thorn glared at...gymnasium again!"**

“Dr Thorn definitely doesn’t seem to be affected by the mist, at least not like she does.” Hazel noticed.

**We didn't wait...do that yet?"**

“Ouch.” Rachel winced.

“I honestly thought Percy would know how.” Thalia said, shooting Percy an apologetic look. 

**An uncomfortable...and not me?**

“Ooh. Big three kids’ rivalry.” Connor smirked.

“Because at that time, I thought Thalia was the child of the prophecy, it was more important to teach her.” Chiron reminded Percy, ignoring Connor.

“Yes but you had the two summers before this and almost two summers after to teach Percy.” Poseidon pointed out. Chiron winced but said nothing. He didn’t really have a defense. 

**Grover hurried us...school motto.**

“It was my rank.” Grover said quickly.

“Why would you think ‘Grunt’ would be a school motto?” Will asked in amusement.

“Military school.” Percy shrugged.

**"So what's the..."I found two."**

Nico sighed.

**"Two half-bloods?"...demigods out there.**

“There is more than enough.” Hera sniffed disdainfully.

**"A brother and...what to do!"**

“One monster shouldn’t be that hard.” Ares scoffed.

“It would be in it’s a monster old enough or powerful enough to agitate Thalia and Percy.” Demeter pointed out.

“There was no way Grover would have been able to fight the monster alone.” Percy said. “No offense Grover.”

“None taken. It’s true.” The Satyr admitted. 

**Grover looked at..in the real world.**

“Sorry Percy. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” Grover leaned over to whisper to his friend. Percy just nodded.

Thalia grimaced. She had known that Percy had felt undermined when she came back but she hadn’t cared. Despite the fact he had been so kind and helpful when she first woke up, she had bought into the rivalry between their parents. In some ways, she was no better than Annabeth in that respect, although she hadn’t done it consciously. 

“Hey, at least you have someone to blame when it all goes wrong.” Apollo whispered to Percy with a grin. Percy gave him a weak smile, appreciating the attempt to make him feel better. Poseidon squeezed his son’s shoulders. 

**"Right," she said...Dr. Thorn."**

“Not much of a shock.” Clarisse nodded.

**Weird thing about...overcompensate or something.**

“Yeah. Living in a strict military style for ages does get annoying. It’s nice to celebrate once in a while.” Dakota nodded. The other Romans agreed. That was one thing about the Greek Camp, it was nowhere near as strict but they were still trained well. They just put more emphasis on individual fighting and using their Godly powers than the Romans did.

**There were black...to the walls.**

Artemis rolled her eyes and began muttering about boys.

“That’s probably what I would be doing.” Leo nodded.

“You’d be standing in a corner awkwardly trying to impress the girls.” Piper teased.

“Hey!” He complained. That was more true than he would like to admit.

“There is nothing awkward about the Flaming Hot Valdez.” Everyone gave Leo weird looks at that.

**Girls moved around...all over his face.**

“The girls don’t sound any better than the guys. In fact, they sound worse.” Rachel pulled a face.

“Kinda reminds me of Drew.” Connor muttered. The other Greek demigods grimaced and nodded their agreement.

**Some of the older...it was true…**

“I don’t know, if those girls catch them it might be true for them.” Travis shuddered.

“It’s quite interesting hearing about a school dance from a guy’s perspective.” Piper said with a laugh.

**"There they are.”...Nico di Angelo"**

Nico grimaced and Will put an arm around his shoulders. Hazel looked at her brother sympathetically. She might not have known him for long but she knew how much Bianca had meant to him. It was clear that their father didn’t know yet though, given the curious expression on his face.

“You have a full blooded sister?” Jason asked curiously. Nico nodded.

“How come she’s not here with us?” Gwen wondered.

“Who knows how the Fates work.” Will shrugged, taking the attention off Nico. He had been wondering why Michael wasn’t here, given that he was the head counsellor of the Apollo Cabin. Plus Katie from the Demeter Cabin wasn’t here either. He pointed this out to everyone. A few people nodded.

“All we can do is keep reading.” Annabeth stated. 

**The girl wore a floppy green cap,**

Nico inhaled sharply. Bianca had loved that cap. She rarely ever took it off.

**like she was trying...as they talked.**

Nico looked down at his hands.

“Do I still do that?” He asked Will, eager for anything to distract him.

“Yes. All the time.” Will told him with a smile.

**The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards.**

Now Nico groaned. He was _not_ looking forward to reading about heh ad behaved as a ten year old. It was going to be horrible.

“You were cute.” Will smirked at him.

“I am not _cute_!” Nico hissed back in an undertone. Will just kept smirking at him infuriatingly.

“What kind of cards?” Frank asked.

“Mythomagic.” Nico told him with a sigh.

“Oh, you play too?” 

“Not anymore.” 

**His sister seemed...something was wrong.**

“Yes, you’ll be sensing the monster around. If he’s agitating a son of Poseidon and a daughter of Zeus, you would notice it too.” Demeter said absently. She was still busy thinking about what the son of Apollo had said. She too wondered why her daughter was not deemed important enough to be here.

**Annabeth said, "Do they...out of here," I said.**

“You really thought it would be that simple? Especially as you’ve already alerted the monster that you’re there.” Athena rolled her eyes. Thalia and Percy both shrugged.

“My plans go to Hades anyway. Figured it was easier not to really make one.” Percy smirked. “And despite the fact that Thalia likes to mock my plans a lot, hers don’t ever actually go any better than mine.”

“That’s not true!” Thalia protested.

“Name one plan of yours that went completely smoothly.” He challenged. 

“Well there was...no. How about...Na, that went pretty wrong. Oh fine!” She glared at him as Percy smirked triumphantly. 

**I started forward...why we were here.**

“Most monsters aren’t susceptible to mist manipulation. Unless you are exceptionally strong but only children of Hecate are usually strong enough to trick monsters.” Chiron stated.

**"Don't look at...Do some dancing.**

“That’s a better plan.” Athena nodded. Not perfect by any means, but better.

“You’re talking to Percy and you think dancing is acting natural?” Grover snickered.

“Yeah, he’d be far more likely to hover at the edges with the other guys. He would have the perfect excuse and he would be able to keep an eye on Nico and Bianca. It’ll be hard to watch them if you’re dancing.” Rachel frowned. Annabeth nodded. The mortal had a good point.

Nico frowned. It was weird listening to Percy and Thalia discussing him and his sister. He wondered what Percy’s first impression of him would be. Probably some hyperactive annoying kid. He cringed internally.

**But keep an...Jesse McCartney?"**

Grover threw a fake glare at Thalia who simply smiled innocently at him.

**Grover looked hurt. "I did."**

“Urgh, really?” Chris grimaced over at Grover.

“There is nothing wrong with Jesse McCartney.” Grover told him.

“Yeah, there is.” Clarisse scowled. 

**"Oh my gods..."Green who?"**

“I’m teaching you some good music.” Thalia vowed. 

**"Never mind. Let's dance."...the dance floor.**

“He was right. He can’t dance.” Thalia noted with a smile.

“The hooves probably don’t help.” Piper commented.

“Ooh, dancing Satyrs.” Travis whispered to Connor. He nodded and smirked over at Grover who eyed them nervously.

**Annabeth smiled...kind of disturbing.**

Annabeth smirked at him.

“It didn’t last that long.” Percy reminded her.

“Still. I was taller than you.” She grinned.

**She used to...for some reason.**

Aphrodite smiled happily while Apollo frowned.

**"So…" I tried to...heck is natural?**

“Killing stuff.” Clarisse said immediately.

“Probably not the best idea at a school dance.” Travis said with a laugh.

“I don’t know. If those crazy girls came near me I might consider it.” Beckendorf muttered. 

“So I’m not allowed to give you makeovers then?” Silena asked him with a smile.

“Not if they include ribbons and lipstick.” He told her firmly.

“I promise it’ll be a much better makeover than those girls.” She scoffed. He frowned but she sent him a pleading look that he couldn’t refuse.

“Oh fine.” He grunted. Silena beamed at him.

**"Um, design any good buildings lately?"**

“That’s always a safe topic.” Grover laughed.

**Annabeth's eyes lit...she was saying.**

“At least you listened. Thalia and Grover just interrupt or find an excuse to leave.” Annabeth said, glaring at both of them.

“Being a Hunter is busy work.” Thalia shrugged, grinning innocently.

“I was busy trying to find demigods and search for Pan.” Grover told her. She continued to glare at them.

**The truth was I...hardly ever saw them.**

Annabeth smiled while Thalia smirked.

“I didn’t realise you wanted to see more of me, kelp head.” 

“That was before I had spent much time with you.” Percy retorted.

Poseidon frowned at this news. He had assumed that Chiron had taught more to the daughter of Zeus because she stayed at Camp year round. Apparently that was not the case. So he must have taught her the summer that she woke up. Apparently Chiron was not telling them the real reason he hadn’t taught Percy such things. Poseidon was determined to find out.

**Yeah, uh, cool,"...wanted to die.**

Everybody burst out laughing as Grover went bright red.

“When you say he was bad, that appears to be an understatement.” Rachel laughed. 

“I had bruises for weeks.” Thalia grinned.

“You did not.” Grover rolled his eyes.

**At least his feet...standing there."**

“Well, at least Percy’s acting natural.” Clarisse snickered.

**I looked nervously..."Me, Seaweed Brain."**

The room erupted into laughter once more.

“Really Percy?” Thalia asked.

“I didn’t want to dance in the first place.” Percy shrugged.

**"Oh. Oh, right."...judo throw me.**

“It was tempting.” Annabeth assured him.

“Might have knocked some sense into him.” Grover smirked, glancing between the two of them. 

“Oi!” Percy complained.

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Rachel said to Grover.

“Not you too.” Percy pouted. She just smirked at him.

**"I'm not going...basketball in the corner.**

“Best place to be.” Leo nodded.

“Totally.” Jason agreed. Piper glared at him and he grinned sheepishly.

**We shuffled...on her toes.**

Aphrodite smiled. They were so adorable.

**"What were you...Hades's gym shorts.**

“Excuse me?” Hades grumbled.

“There’s nothing wrong with San Francisco.” Gwen said with a frown.

“Well, it’s supposed to be bad for Greek demigods, which is supposed to be because of Mount Tam or Mount Othrys. Now I’m guessing it’s also because you guys live there.” Annabeth stated. The Romans nodded in understanding. They were a bit jealous that they got to watch over the Titan stronghold and the Greeks got to be right next to Olympus.

**"So he wants...I was kidding.**

“I did.” Annabeth admitted.

“You really should’ve known better by then.” Thalia told her.

“I...yeah.” She sighed.

“Hey, it’s not like anyone tells me this stuff. And there is an awful lot of stuff to remember.” Percy protested. Annabeth and Athena both rolled their eyes. 

**"You know...tell you something."**

“Were you going to mention that you wanted to join the Hunters?” Percy asked. Annabeth froze while Artemis studied the girl interestedly. So far it seemed like the daughter of Athena would be a worthy addition to her ranks. Athena frowned at her daughter. While she thought Annabeth could do much better than the sea spawn, she wasn’t sure she wanted her joining the Hunters.

“I...how did you know?” Annabeth asked.

“Grover found the pamphlet.” Percy told her. Annabeth glared at Grover.

“I was just considering. I hadn’t decided anything yet.”

**Suddenly she froze...was nowhere in sight.**

Hades glared furiously.

“You were so busy chit chatting, you forgot about my children!” If Jackson was the reason something went wrong, he was going to be very angry.

“Grover and Thalia also didn’t seem to notice.” Poseidon pointed out to his brother. This seemed to be another example of the Satyr failing to protect his charges, even if the sea God had to admit he was becoming quite fond of him.

**"We have to...necks, like kittens.**

Hades’ glare deepened further. 

**I still couldn't...thought, Wait.**

“Oh dear.” Demeter sighed. “He’s already feeling put out by the daughter of Zeus, his natural rivalry will mean he won’t want to be seen as needing her help.” Percy grimaced as Thalia looked at him. She had wondered why he had run off on his own. Now she thought about it, if Percy had come in and taken charge of everything the way she had done, she would have done the same thing.

**I remembered...do that yet?**

Thalia grimaced and threw an apologetic look at Percy. Chiron looked down. He hadn’t realised that he had also played such a part in Percy’s lack of self esteem. It would seem they needed to have a talk at some point.

**I thought about...solve every problem.**

“You don’t know what the monster is or how powerful. You should always take back up in that situation.” Clarisse pointed out.

“Like you would have done?” Percy shot back. She shrugged, admitting she would have probably gone off on her own too.

**Besides, there wasn't...found my friends.**

“There is that.” Hazel nodded. She felt a bit anxious. She knew Bianca died at some point and wondered if that was why the rescue operation had gone so wrong. It felt strange to hear about, and be so concerned for, her half sister that she had never even met.

**I knew monsters...after Dr. Thorn.**

“Foolish boy.” Athena scoffed.

“I needed to stall them. Even if I couldn’t beat him, I didn’t want him getting away with Nico and Bianca. Besides, Annabeth had gone to find the others so I knew backup would be coming.” Percy defended himself.

**The door led into...staring right at me.**

“Well, you did have a sword.” Beckendorf pointed out.

“With Percy’s luck the monster will be behind him.” Will stated. 

**I advanced slowly...bronze weapons.**

“That would be too easy.” Percy sighed.

“Besides, monsters don’t like Celestial Bronze but they don’t usually run away from it.” Artemis stated.

“It’ll be a trap. Thorn knows that Percy and the others are demigods.” Reyna pointed out.

**"My name's Percy,"...trying to warn me.**

“Well, you got there eventually.” Annabeth sighed.

**I whirled around...was nothing to hit.**

“Woah.” Leo whistled. 

**A cold laugh...who you are."**

“Seriously, do monsters have like demigods classes or something.” Leo complained. “It’s freaky how they always know who you are.”

“Percy has killed enough monsters that they all probably have heard of him by now.” Apollo said, a bit of worry creeping into his voice. While it was a mark of a good demigod, Percy already had enough of a target on his back.

“Besides, all of Kronos’ army knows who Percy is.” Chris muttered. 

“Oh great.” Percy said sarcastically. “For once I’m the popular kid and you know what...it sucks.” A few people chuckled, though they agreed with Percy.

**I tried to free...Poison.**

“You know, it’s not healthy to have such an acquaintance with poison that you can recognise it instantly.” Poseidon told his son.

“Lots of monsters are poisonous.” He shrugged. “Besides, it might be a good thing. If I know it’s poison, I have more chances of being able to do something about it in time.”

“Not if you don’t have any cure on hand.” Will pointed out.

“That poison would not kill him.” Artemis stated confidently.

“How do you know that?” Apollo asked.

“Given all the information about Dr Thorn, my guess is he is a Manticore.” She told her brother. Poseidon, Hades, Zeus and Athena all paled a little. They did not want their children fighting a Manticore. Hades was even more concerned because both of his children were defenceless and Poseidon was worried that his son was already poisoned and facing such a powerful monster pretty much alone.

**I forced myself...middle school dances."**

“Don’t we all.” Beckendorf laughed.

“So, it looks like he wanted to trap Percy, Thalia and Annabeth too. Otherwise why would he have left Nico and Bianca while he hid?” Reyna noted.

**I tried to swing...throwing knives.**

Artemis nodded. “The tail of a Manticore does move incredible fast.”

**Next to me...I can throw."**

“Thankfully, help is already coming.” Will said.

“That’s the end of the chapter.” Hephaestus announced.

“Oh good. That makes it my turn.” ares said eagerly. Jackson versus a Manticore was a fight he wanted to hear about. And it was about time to have some action. Everything had been so boring so far. Hephaestus handed the book to his brother with an eye roll, easily guessing where Ares’ mind had gone to.


	2. The Vice Principal Gets a Missile Launcher

Before Ares could start reading there was a blinding flash of light and another, smaller group of people appeared in the middle of the throne room. 

“Tyson!” Percy called out.

“Brother!” Tyson’s face broke into a grin as he made his way over to Percy before pulling him into a very tight hug. “Daddy!” He added when he saw who was next to Percy. Poseidon smiled as he hugged his son.

“Excuse me? Brother?” A voice Percy didn’t recognise sounded very indignant. Peering around Tyson he saw a merman, who was currently floating, with green skin, long black hair and two fish tails instead of one.

“Triton.” Poseidon greeted his other son. “Er, yes. This is Percy Jackson, your demigod half brother.” Percy waved awkwardly. Triton looked at him with disdain. He couldn’t believe his father had broken his sacred oath, and betrayed his wife, again to father another demigod. “When are you from?”

“What do you mean, when?” Triton asked.

“We were brought together to read some books about Percy but lots of people are from various points in time. Percy and his friends are from the future.” Poseidon tried to explain. Triton looked slightly disgusted that he had been brought to read books about a demigod half brother of his. But he gave the same year as the Gods were from. Tyson was from the same time as Percy. Tyson and Triton sat together on a new couch that had appeared from nowhere.

Persephone quietly made her way to sit beside her husband, ignoring her mother’s comments about how she should sit with her. Hades quietly explained what was going on and she nodded briskly, a little intrigued. The way her husband spoke about the boy was curious. It had been a very long time since he had spoken of a child of either of his brothers in such a fashion. Actually, she couldn’t remember it happening ever. He must be quite the hero.

A small cough made everyone remember that more people had arrived as well.

“Introduce yourselves and state your Godly parent.” Zeus ordered the two demigods who were looking completely confused. Ares grumbled about all of these people interrupting just when there might be action.

“Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter.” Demeter smiled widely at this while Connor was smirking at his brother. Persephone eyed her half sister with curiosity. Glancing around, Katie noticed that the only couch with space was the one with the Hermes lot on as it seemed to have magically expanded. The only other option was sitting with the Gods. Grudgingly she sat down on the end of the couch, next to Travis who had been forced to swap seats with a smirking Connor. Travis began telling her who all the strange people were and what was going on. 

“Drew Tanaka. Daughter of Aphrodite.” Piper glared at the girl who had made her stay in the Aphrodite cabin hell. Drew paid her no attention and went to sit with Silena who greeted her sister and began explaining what was going on and who everyone was.

“We do not have time to explain everything that has happened now.” Zeus stated. “All those who have joined us late can read the first two books during the breaks to catch up.” The newcomers all nodded. Percy pulled a face at the idea of Tyson and Triton in particular reading all of his thoughts. 

“Can I read now?” Ares grumbled. He had seen the chapter title and was eager to get on with it.

“Yes. We have had enough delays.” His father nodded.

**The Vice Principal Gets a Missile Launcher**

Ares read out the title with a bit too much enthusiasm for Percy’s liking.

“A missile launcher?” Leo asked.

“That’s just cheating.” Connor muttered. “He’s already got poisonous tail spikes that he can throw quicker than we can even see. He doesn’t need a missile launcher too.” 

“Tell me about it.” Percy complained.

“Why does a monster have a missile launcher anyway?” Rachel asked.

“Why does a  _ Vice Principal _ have a missile launcher?” Katie asked. 

“You’ll see.” Thalia told Rachel while Travis told Katie what had happened in the first chapter. Ares started reading before Thalia could even finish speaking. He didn’t care why Thorn had one, he just wanted to get to the action.

**I didn't know...think to get it.**

“He might notice if you yell.” Clarisse pointed out scathingly.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind.” Percy rolled his eyes.

**I closed my eyes...not kill you. Walk!"**

Poseidon glared at the book.

**Thorn herded us...Grover was awake.**

“Oh, that’s what you were doing.” Nico exclaimed. He had been a bit confused.

“It works awake or asleep.” Grover explained.

“I know that now.” Percy reminded him.

**Hey, Grover!...spike-throwing maniac! Help!**

“Well, hopefully that will get his attention.” Rachel laughed.

**Thorn inarched...like a Percysicle.**

A few people chuckled, despite the danger the demigods were still in.

**"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."**

“Ride? Thorn isn’t going to kill you?” Zeus asked in a bored voice.

“If he was going to kill them he would have done it already.” Apollo pointed out, while glaring at his father for his blatant lack of care as to what happened to the demigods.

**"What ride?" Bianca demanded...anything at all.**

“That is pretty brave.” Will told Nico. The other demigods all nodded and smiled. Nico went a little red but couldn’t help smiling. At least Percy had thought he was brave at some point.

**Dr. Thorn made a...heavily armed friends!**

More laughter.

“Don’t tell me the tin cans caught his attention over the words ‘spike throwing maniac’?” Piper asked in exasperation. Grover blushed.

“I didn’t catch most of what he said to be honest but I could feel his emotions.”

**"Halt," Thorn said...overlooking the sea.**

Percy grimaced, recalling when Annabeth had fallen and he thought she was dead.

**At least, I sensed...was mist and darkness.**

“At least there is sea below.” Poseidon muttered. Given his son’s history of falling from high places, it was definitely likely to be a good thing.”

**Dr. Thorn pushed us...toy soldier of some kind.**

Nico groaned and hid his face in his hands.

“I’d be more surprised if you weren’t afraid.” Hades told his son in a surprisingly gentle voice. “You were ten years old, being kidnapped with no idea what was going on.” Nico nodded. Will squeezed his shoulders. Persephone eyed the boy who she had thought was in the Lotus Casino.

**"Stop talking!"...using a mobile phone.**

The majority of the demigods nodded in agreement. It was strange to see monsters using modern technology. Especially when the demigods themselves couldn’t use it.

**I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was.**

“It wouldn’t matter as you would be jumping into the sea.” Poseidon told his son.

“I know. I was thinking about the others.”

**Dr. Thorn laughed...Save yourself."**

“Percy wouldn’t do that.” Grover scoffed.

“Thank the Gods for that.” Nico muttered.

**"What did he...a plan, right?"**

Everybody chuckled.

“Of course he doesn’t.” Annabeth laughed.

“Probably for the best really.” Percy shrugged.

“True.” She admitted.

**Grover! I thought...he might help. Maybe.**

“I probably would.” Poseidon mused. Then he wondered. If he knew the other two were the children of his brother would he help? He never actively tried to kill his brother’s children but going out of his way to help them was another matter entirely.

“The Manticore moves too quickly. Percy alone might be able to escape, if he wasn’t too bothered about capturing him, but he wouldn’t make it with two other demigods.” Artemis stated.

**"I would kill...almost like a tail.**

Artemis nodded to herself, happy to be proven correct.

**"Unfortunately," Thorn said...got no one but each other."**

Hades sighed, feeling bad for his children.

“You know you’ve got us. Don’t you?” Will whispered to Nico.

“I do now.” Nico replied honestly. He still couldn’t quite believe it but he didn’t doubt that at least some people at Camp didn’t mind him. A few, like Percy and Will, might even like him.

**"Aww," Dr. Thorn..."You work for Luke."**

“That’ll probably upset him. I doubt a monster that powerful likes having to take orders from a mortal, even a demigod.” Apollo laughed.

“He probably views it as he is working for Kronos, not Luke.” Will pointed out to his father. Apollo nodded. That would make more sense.

**Dr. Thorn's mouth...who's the General?"**

“It was a terrible French accent.” Nico told him. “It was quite funny actually. If Thorn hadn’t been so scary I would have probably laughed.” Percy grinned.

“I’ve never been very good at accents.” 

“Perseus asks a good question. Who is this General?” Athena wondered. Then her eyes narrowed.

“Titan general.” Ares stated. “Atlas most likely.”

“But he holds up the sky. How could he be enlightening them?” Artemis asked.

“Maybe that’s were he is taking them. To where Atlas is. Maybe they want one of the children to take the sky from him.” Athena suggested.

“But no mortal can hold the sky, not for long anyway. It would kill them.” Hera scoffed.

“Somehow I don’t think Atlas will care.” Poseidon pointed out to his sister.

“But even so, holding up the sky has to be done voluntarily.” Apollo pointed out. “He can’t force the kids to do it.” 

“He could if he threatens the others.” Athena reminded him. 

“We could just read to find out.” Percy pointed out. Athena glared at him for the tone but nodded to Ares. 

**Thorn looked...your great army and—"**

Everyone burst out laughing at the idea of ten year old Nico telling off a Manticore. Nico blushed a little.

“You are one gutsy kid.” Hermes laughed.

“I can’t believe that’s what you’re upset about.” Will smirked at the younger boy. “He called your figurines dolls.” 

“Shut up.” Nico told him, his cheeks darkening even further.

**"Now, now," Dr. Thorn...figure out a plan.**

“Or give the others time to arrive.” Athena nodded. Her daughter would be able to make a much better plan than the sea spawn.

**"The stirring of monsters."...downfall of Olympus!"**

There was definitely no laughing now. The Gods all exchanged looks, trying to work out what monster it would be. The most obvious answer was Typhon. He would certainly cause death and destruction. They all shuddered at the very possibility of having to fight Kronos and Typhon together.

**"Okay," Bianca whispered...completely nuts, too."**

“Everyone knows that.” Thalia smirked.

“I am not.” Percy protested.

“Well, to be fair to someone who doesn’t know about the Gods, jumping off a cliff into the sea would sound insane.” Grover pointed out.

**I never got the...move was brilliant.**

“Of course it was.” Athena said, smiling at her daughter.

**Wearing her cap...been truly frightened.**

“I was talking about Aegis.” Percy stated before Thalia could open her mouth. She still smirked at him.

**She uses a huge...at the sight of it.**

Thalia smiled proudly and Zeus nodded, glad his daughter had such good protection. However he was worried about her fighting a Manticore. 

“That sounds pretty cool.” Jason said. He hadn’t gotten a good view of the shield during his sister’s earlier spar with Percy. Thalia tapped her bracelet and put the shield up so he could see and Jason immediately recoiled, along with everybody nearby. Thalia smirked as she put Aegis away again.

“Definitely cool.” Leo nodded. “Terrifying but cool.” 

**Even Dr. Thorn winced...loaf of bread.**

Zeus grimaced while Hera looked slightly disappointed that Thalia had not been sliced up. Thalia noticed her look and rolled her eyes.

**As it was, she...land on her feet.**

Artemis nodded approvingly. It seemed her new Lieutenant had good reflexes. She had also been impressed with her fighting abilities against Percy earlier.

**The sound of the...knocked Thalia down.**

“Why aren’t you helping?” Zeus snapped at Percy.

“Because despite how it feels reading about it, this happened in a matter of seconds and I’d just been ploughed into the floor.” Percy replied.

**Grover sprang forward...entangling him.**

“Better plants than tin cans I guess?” Clarisse frowned. 

  
“Don’t underestimate the power of nature magic.” Katie snapped. Demeter nodded at her daughter’s words. 

“Plants can provide a useful distraction or slow down opponents which is really helpful in a fight.” Percy defended Grover. 

**Dr. Thorn roared and..."And what is that?"**

“Well that’s one way of getting introduced to our world.” Beckendorf looked at Nico sympathetically.

“Nico thought it was amazing. It was poor Bianca who was freaking out.” Annabeth told him.

“Oh yeah.” Percy grinned as he recalled Nico’s reaction to finding out what type of monster Dr Thorn was. The son of Hades groaned.

**"A manticore?" Nico...five to saving throws!"**

All the Greek demigods burst out laughing as Nico buried his face in his hands.

“You were so adorable.” Will told him.

“I was  _ not _ !” Nico protested.

“What is he on about?” Triton asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Mythomagic. It’s a card game.” Connor explained. Triton nodded though he still didn’t understand.

**I didn't know...toward us with a snarl.**

“See? Useless.” Clarisse scoffed. Katie, Demeter and Grover glared at her.

**"Get down!" Annabeth...a second volley.**

“It saved your life.” Tyson smiled.

“It sure did.” Percy nodded.

**I heard a...with a monster?**

“Mortals are helping monsters?” Hestia asked in concern.

“Mortals are pretty easy to bribe and usually don’t know exactly what they are doing or who they are helping because of the mist.” Annabeth told the Goddess.

“Read!” Zeus ordered. His daughter was still in a fight, alone, against the Manticore.

**The searchlights blinded...the other direction.**

Zeus growled angrily. 

“I’m fine, father.” Thalia told him tentatively. This concern was quite unusual and freaking her out a little. 

**"No!" I ran out to help her.**

“Finally.” Zeus scowled.

**I parried away...hit her chest.**

“Thanks for that.” Thalia said.

“Anytime you need your butt saving, I’ll help.” Percy smirked at her.

**I raised my...Dr. Thorn's shoulder.**

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

“Why are my Hunter’s there?” 

“You’ll see, My Lady.” Thalia told her with a smile. Then she cringed as she remembered how she had hated the Hunters until she joined them.

**He staggered backward...that much accuracy.**

“My Hunters are the best.” Artemis smiled proudly.

“Oh you just had to mention that.” Will complained. Percy shot him an apologetic look.

**The manticore pulled..."Oh, wonderful."**

“You do not sound pleased.” Artemis frowned at her Lieutenant.

“I had some...issues with the Hunters for a while.” Thalia admitted.

**I didn't have a...to kill, my lady?"**

Artemis smiled at the description of Zoe. Then she frowned. If Thalia was her Lieutenant then Zoe must have died. Maybe this book would reveal what had happened to Zoe. Percy, Thalia, Grover and Annabeth all looked sad. 

**I couldn't tell who...against the Ancient Laws."**

“No it is not.” Artemis put in. “He is a beast and so is under my sphere of influence.” 

“We know, sis.” Apollo rolled his eyes. She glared at him.

**"Not so," another girl...catch my breath,**

Artemis raised an eyebrow towards Percy who went a little red. Apollo was grumbling under his breath.

**but her expression...charged at the monster.**

“No!” Athena yelled at her daughter. Annabeth might be a good fighter but she would not be able to take on a Manticore alone, even if he was injured. 

**"Get back, half-blood!"...into his mane.**

A few people gave Annabeth impressed looks.

“First you piggyback a Fury, now a Manticore.” Frank looked at the daughter of Athena like she was crazy. Annabeth shrugged.

“It worked.”

“Not really.” Percy muttered. Athena looked even more concerned at this.

**The manticore..."Fire!" Zoe ordered.**

“No.” Athena said angrily.

“Sorry, sister but we need to kill that beast.” Artemis said. She trusted her Hunters to have good enough aim to miss the demigod.

**"No!" I screamed...into the darkness.**

“Annabeth!” Athena called, while glaring at Artemis.

“I’m fine, mother.” Annabeth assured her. 

**"Annabeth!" I yelled...into the night.**

“Wow. You didn’t kill them.” Apollo noted in surprise. 

“There was no need.” Artemis shrugged. Apollo didn’t point out that that never usually stopped her.

**The Hunters advanced...timing, as usual."**

“Sounds like you had more than just a few issues.” Jason said to his sister.

“Zoe and I didn’t get on very well until much later.” Thalia said, regret in her voice. “We met before this and she told me something I didn’t much appreciate. Turns out she was right.” Now her voice turned cold and bitter. Jason guessed it had something to do with Luke. Maybe Annabeth wasn’t the only one with a crush on him.

**Zoe scanned the...beyond help."**

Athena sighed and glanced at her daughter to make sure she was definitely here and safe.

**I tried to struggle...auburn-haired girl said.**

“If the sea is below, he would have been fine.” Poseidon pointed out.

“Yes but I doubt I would want to waste time having to go and fetch him.” Artemis pointed out. “He’d struggle to get back up the cliff.” Poseidon nodded.

**"Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"**

Apollo and Poseidon both winced beside him.

“Not something to say to my sister.” Apollo stated.

“I was in pain and shock.” Percy defended himself. Apollo nodded.

“And I don’t blame you but that’s probably the only reason you’ll get away with it.” 

“It does not sound like he meant to be disrespectful, brother.” Artemis said. 

“I do apologise, Lady Artemis.” Percy said, looking at the Goddess. She was one he did actually respect. She smiled at him.

“That would make a change.” Thalia snickered.

**Zoe stepped forward..."Goddess of the Hunt."**

“Chapter is done.” Ares stated.

“I will read.” Aphrodite said. She took the book.

  
  



	3. Bianca Di Angelo Makes a Choice

Nico grimaced. He knew exactly what choice this was. Some part of him was interested to know exactly why his sister had abandoned him at the drop of a hat and the other part thought that no reason would be good enough.

**After seeing Dr. Thorn...like, "Um… okay."**

A few people chuckled.

**That was nothing...you're so… Wow!"**

Now everybody was laughing while Artemis raised an eyebrow at the blushing Satyr. Grover put his head in his hands. This was only the beginning. He could imagine the Goddess’ reaction to some of his actions when they got back to Camp. He was fairly certain Percy had managed to witness at least half of his stupidity.

**"Get up, goat boy!"...Who are your parents?"**

“No, I think Bianca’s question was perfectly valid too.” Nico stated grimly. “Especially as we had just been almost kidnapped.” 

**Bianca glanced...for our school, but…"**

Hades grimaced as he thought of his poor Maria. He wished he had been able to protect her as well as the children. Then he sent a glare towards Zeus. Persephone guessed where her husband’s thoughts had gone and sighed. She grasped his hand in support. She may dislike his dalliance with mortals but she didn’t like seeing her husband in pain.

**She faltered..."An Olympian… athlete?"**

“Nope.” Connor laughed. “Though that would be cool.”

“Cooler than having a god for a parent?” Rachel asked. 

“In some ways.” Chris stated. All the Gods looked affronted at this statement.

**"No," Zoe said...movement points for—"**

“What?” Will choked while trying to turn his laughter into a cough. Given the glare Nico was giving him, he figured he hadn’t been successful. 

  
“Never mind.” Nico said through gritted teeth. “Just ignore all of the next part.”

“Oh no. This is going to be brilliant.” Travis sniggered.

“You were so hyperactive.” Beckendorf smiled. Nico buried his face in his hands.

“Nico was hyperactive?” Hazel asked in astonishment. She could not imagine her brother acting in such a way, even with what they were reading.

“Yep.” Will nodded. 

“You have no idea.” Percy said with a long suffering sigh. Then he winked at Nico to let him know he was joking.

**"Nico, shut up!"...search for her—**

“Thanks.” Annabeth said. 

“Anytime.” Percy nodded. 

**I couldn't help...I was a demigod.**

“At least you found out pretty quickly. I had to fight a Fury and then spend months thinking I was going insane.” Percy grumbled.

“You were already insane.” Nico replied.

“And you weren’t?” Percy raised an eyebrow. “The kid who asked if Zeus had lightning bolts that did six hundred damage.” Nico went red again and didn’t reply.

**Thalia must've been...Artemis looked pained.**

So did Athena. 

“That’s a pretty horrible way to learn that lesson.” Will grimaced, feeling extra bad for the Di Angelo siblings.

**"Do not despair for...has vanished."**

“Well, the Manticore wouldn’t just jump off a cliff to his death so I guess that makes sense.” Clarisse nodded. Triton let out a sigh of relief. He liked Athena and hoped her daughter would be alright. Then he had to remind himself the girl was here and so had clearly survived whatever happened.

“At least Annabeth managed to hold on then. It wouldn’t have been good if she’d fallen off.” Thalia said with a grimace. 

“Thorn wanted them alive so he probably wouldn’t have let her fall. He would have wanted a prisoner.” Percy reminded her. 

“Honestly, if he was going to take a prisoner, it’s probably a good thing it was me.” Annabeth put in. “I was the only one there not a child of the Big Three.” 

“That’s true.” Thalia nodded. She didn’t like it but who knows what would have happened if Luke had been able to capture one of the kids of the Big Three. She had barely been able to resist the Ophiotaurus as it was. If he’d had days to try and convince her, and no Percy to essentially claim the prophecy as his, she might well have given in.

**I still wanted to...feel her presence.**

“You probably would as you are so attuned both to Annabeth and to your powers.” Poseidon stated. Percy and Annabeth both went red at this statement.

**"Oo!" Nico raised...Is he dead?"**

There were a few more chuckles. 

“Kill me now.” Nico muttered.

“This isn’t even the best bit. Remember our one on one conversation? Or when you met Mr D?” Percy smirked. Dionysus groaned. That did not sound promising. Nico also groaned and hid his face in Will’s shoulder without thinking.

**"He was a manticore,"...faint right there.**

“Really Grover?” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“She’d already seen a Manticore, forgive me for thinking some hooves wouldn’t be too much after that.” Grover replied.

“There is only so much crazy a person can handle at once.” Percy told his friend, recalling how he wanted to go home after seeing Naiads. 

**"Grover, put your...my hooves are clean!"**

“I don’t think that was the problem.” Leo stated as everyone laughed.

**"Bianca," I said...let's go!" said Nico.**

There were a few smiles at his enthusiasm.

**"Wait," Bianca...Thalia said.**

Nico’s good mood vanished immediately. Joining the Hunters was what had killed Bianca. If she hadn’t been a Hunter then she would have never gone on that stupid quest. He was grateful to Thalia for trying to stop it happening, even if he knew it really had nothing to do with Bianca and more to do with Thalia’s issues with the Hunters.

**Thalia and Zoe glared...seriously hated each other.**

Artemis frowned in concern. She wondered how Thalia had come to be here Lieutenant given how much she seemed to dislike her Hunters.

“We came to an understanding.” Thalia told the Goddess quietly.

**"We've burdened...to speak with you."**

Nico sighed. He didn’t really want to hear his sister’s reasoning for abandoning him because there was finally someone else to dump him with. 

**"What about me?"...as a favor to me?"**

“I’m sure he would.” Annabeth rolled her eyes, giving Grover a smirk. He went red and glared at her.

**Grover just about...they're so… Argh!"**

“Seriously, what did they do?” Jason asked his sister. Asking her to join the hunt while she had been on the run didn’t seem like enough to incite this kind of anger.

“I think I explained it to Percy later.” She told him.

**"I'm with you," I said...he was a monster!"**

“Because you wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing.” Percy glared at her.

“I’m not that stupid.” Thalia retorted.

“Yeah you are.” Annabeth told her friend. “You’d think you were perfectly capable of taking a single monster on by yourself, especially if the other option was getting Percy to help.” Thalia scowled but had to admit her friend was correct. She would have behaved exactly as Percy had done. For the same reasons too.

**"If we'd stuck...think of that?"**

“Annabeth was the one who decided to jump on his back.” Rachel pointed out.

“Which saved their lives.” Piper put in. “It distracted him from Percy and Thalia.” 

“You two are so like your fathers.” Demeter shook her head in exasperation. “Any excuse to start a fight.” Zeus and Poseidon both sent a glare at their sister before studiously avoiding each other’s gaze.

“We’re better now.” Percy said. “Mostly.” 

**My jaw clenched...might've said them too,**

Thalia grimaced. Percy might not be cruel or mean in the slightest but he certainly had a way with words when he wanted too. His insults might be rubbish but he didn’t need them to make you feel awful.

**but then I looked...Yankees baseball cap.**

“At least you got that.” Annabeth sighed. 

“It came in very handy.” Percy grinned.

**Thalia didn't say...cap in the snow.**

Annabeth hugged her friend.

**The Hunters set up...sitting by the fire.**

Apollo whistled.

“You’re pretty lucky. Not many males have seen my sister’s camp.”

**Almost… except for...It was my fault.**

“See what you’ve done?” Annabeth looked at Thalia who was already looking guilty.

“Sorry, Percy. It wasn’t just your fault. We all made mistakes that day.” Thalia told him. Percy nodded but she knew he wasn’t convinced. Thalia made a mental note to speak to him when they took a break. This book was going to be particularly difficult for them, not just with the deaths of Bianca and Zoe but their rivalry as well.

**What had Annabeth...felt even heavier.**

“It’s probably a good thing. If she’d told you she wanted to join the Hunters you’d probably hate them as much as Thalia does.” Rachel laughed. 

“Yeah, we didn’t need both of you being angry and upsetting them.” Grover said.

**I watched Thalia...she was thinking.**

“Mostly I was just worrying about Annabeth but I was also thinking about the last time I met the Hunters.” Thalia told him

**Seven years ago...was still a tree.**

“Really?” Thalia frowned. “I didn’t know I did that.” Annabeth, Percy and Grover all nodded.

“Yeah. Not often but you do do it occasionally.” Annabeth told her friend. Zeus looked at his daughter in concern, wondering if there were any other side effects of his turning her into a tree.

**Finally, one of the...said with delight.**

“You do realise wounds are not supposed to be green?” Will asked Nico in amusement.

“I know but it was cool to look at.” Nico defended.

**"Hold still," Grover...couple of minutes.**

“That salve was awesome.” Percy told his friend.

**Nico rummaged through...with his sun chariot.**

Apollo smiled, as did most of the Greek demigods. It was still strange to them hearing about Nico this way. Even during this reading he had been acting more relaxed than usual but still nothing compared to how he was in this book.

**"Big collection," I said...He knit his eyebrows.**

“That’s a pretty good collection for a year.” Frank told Nico.

**"What?" I asked...run out of ink?"**

“I have no idea.” Percy frowned.

“I doubt it.” Poseidon told him. 

“It’s doubtful because Percy wouldn’t ever write with it enough to run out of ink.” Annabeth laughed.

**"Um, well, I don't...really well, then?"**

Everyone burst out laughing.

“Yes I can.” Percy told Nico.

“It would be pretty weird if you couldn’t.” Piper said. Percy nodded.

“It’s just one of those things I’d never actually tried doing.” Percy told her.

**I looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh.**

He had no such compunction now and was happily laughing away. Nico glared at him.

**"Jeez, Nico," I said..answer that one.)**

“The answer is yes.” Annabeth stated/

**If Annabeth's mother...for asking that one.)**

Annabeth now glared at him.

“I don’t blame you.” Thalia said. “Insensitive much?” 

“You’re lucky you didn’t say that to Thalia.” Will told Nico who nodded.

“Sorry.” Nico said with a wince. “I didn’t really see what happened properly.”

**Was Annabeth my...him to the wolves.)**

Nico groaned. He was honestly surprised Percy hadn’t throttled him. And that Percy had spent so long trying to help him out. 

Aphrodite grinned. Percy might not have his little crush on Annabeth anymore but she certainly still had one on him. She did love love triangles. They made things so interesting.

**I figured any second...came up to us.**

Nico went red.

“You were going to ask that weren’t you?” Will asked Nico noticing the blush.

“I might have been considering it.” Nico admitted. 

“I’m not a God?” Percy looked confused.

“Well, we had just met Artemis who looked twelve.” Nico pointed out.

“I had already told you I was the son of Poseidon.”

“You could have been a godly son.” Triton scoffed at this. 

**"Percy Jackson."...been sent to fetch.**

“She would probably prefer the dirty laundry.” Apollo told him with a chuckle.

“I expect she would.” Percy grinned. He and Zoe might have reached some kind of understanding but he had no doubt that in the beginning he was pretty much scum under her boot.

**"Come with me,"...waved me inside.**

Apollo looked at his sister in shock. It was strange enough that she had let the boys stay in her camp but she  _ never _ let a male in her tent. Not even him. She always came outside to greet him. Even Artemis looked surprised at her future self’s actions. The Goddess wondered if the boy knew what honour he was being bestowed. She doubted it. Clearly something about him made her invite him in rather than going outside to see him. 

**Bianca di Angelo was...whatever she shot.**

Artemis nodded.

“Artemis is also Goddess of the hunt, so while certain animals are sacred to her, she favours hunting too.” Annabeth reminded Percy who nodded his understanding.

**I thought she had...eyes for a young girl.**

“That would be because she’s not a young girl.” Thalia told him with an eye roll.

“I know. But it was still strange because I’d never seen a God or Goddess take such a young form. The youngest was Hermes who looked mid twenties ish.” Percy defended himself.

**"Are you surprised..."Go astray?" I asked.**

“Growing up, truly living life and falling in love are not going astray.” Aphrodite scowled.

“They will be used by men and have their hearts broken.” Artemis said scathingly.

“That does not happen to everyone. Sometimes women can be equally vicious, they use people too.” Aphrodite replied scorn in her voice. 

“Enough.” Hestia told them in her quiet but commanding voice. They stopped arguing but continued to glare at each other.

**"Grow up. Become smitten...Forget themselves."**

Aphrodite opened her mouth but reluctantly shut it again at a look from Hestia.

**"Oh."...being a guy.**

“I don’t blame Zoe for being angry but it’s not like every male hurt her the way  _ he _ did.” Percy frowned. He totally got why she hated Hercules. That guy was a jerk for what he did to her but that didn’t mean every male ever should take the blame for his actions. Artemis looked at him. It sounded as if he knew at least part of Zoe’s story. The Goddess wondered how he had found out. Surely Zoe would not have told him as she hated discussing it but not many other people knew and they wouldn’t betray Zoe’s trust.

**"You must forgive...enjoy making jackalopes.**

“You were deliberately making him nervous.” Apollo accused his sister.

“I am sure I merely wished to impress upon the boy how rare it is to be in my camp and my tent.” Artemis replied.

**At any rate, Percy...them from you."**

“You could have spoken to him outside of your tent.” Apollo stated. “Your Hunters know better than to eavesdrop.” Artemis shrugged. She was not sure why she had taken the actions she had in the future.

**And so I told her...have nearly forgotten."**

“That’s not good.” Athena said with a frown. 

“Thorn mentioned old monsters waking up too.” Demeter recalled. “It seems we need to brush up on our knowledge.” 

“Hopefully these books will tell us what monsters are stirring.” Poseidon stated. In his mind he was running through all the ancient sea monsters he could think of. Triton was doing the same thing and telepathically comparing notes with his father.

**She stared at me...school dances.'"**

Everybody laughed.

“Percy.” Poseidon rolled his eyes at his son in exasperation. Percy grinned sheepishly.

“I doubt that’s the part she meant.” Connor snickered.

“You never know. Artemis may have been interested in a Manticore’s dance preferences.” Percy smirked.

“I think not.” Apollo laughed.

**"No, no. After that."...raised her hand.**

Artemis sighed. It certainly seemed like this General would be Atlas. If he was freed it would be disastrous.

**"Go on, Percy," the goddess...the downfall of Olympus.'"**

Most of the Gods were still wondering about this. The most likely culprit was still Typhon but Artemis was not so sure. Something about it just felt off to her but she could not think of another alternative.

**The goddess was so...hunt this monster."**

“Not on your own.” Apollo said sharply. His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

**Zoe looked like...do this alone."**

“You should take someone with you.” He reiterated. “If this monster is to bring the downfall of Olympus, you should not be hunting it alone.” Artemis did not reply. She was too busy thinking. She would certainly not be stupid enough to hunt Typhon by herself as she knew she would stand no chance. What other monster could possibly be so dangerous but that she would risk hunting alone?

**"But, Artemis—"...go there with me."**

“You’re going to start at Mount Othrys.” Athena stated. 

“It makes the most sense.” Artemis nodded.

**"As… as you wish...danger we are in."**

“Not Typhon then.” Demeter muttered. That monster was not one who could be brought to Olympus by one Goddess alone.

“It seems that you have guessed what this monster is in the future.” Ares looked at Artemis. 

“Poor Bessie.” Percy sighed to himself. It was still beyond him how a creature as nice as Bessie could have the power to bring down Olympus.

“You still need more proof?” Poseidon asked his brother in exasperation. Everyone was now looking at Zeus. The demigods were angry because they felt that if Zeus had allowed the Gods to be prepared earlier then so many might not have turned to Kronos, or been killed. 

The Gods were all very unhappy that despite all the evidence, Zeus still wanted to turn a blind eye and ignore the fact that Kronos was rising.

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised Poseidon.” Hades said. “Zeus never takes action until the world is already in chaos.” 

“That is not true.” Zeus protested. “For all we know this could simply be a trick.” All of the Gods rolled their eyes at this comment.

**"You know what the...thought about that.**

“Good question.” Rachel said.

“I hadn’t thought about it either.” Apollo mused. “Interesting thought.” 

**A flicker of a...into a jackalope?"**

“Why would you ask that?” Annabeth asked Percy.

“Artemis had made a pretty big point about turning the last guy in camp into a jackalope.” He shrugged.

**"Sadly, no. I want...cabins you burned down."**

“The Hunters burnt down cabins?” Leo asked.

“Yes.” Connor scowled furiously. “With campers inside.”

“What?” Artemis asked in concern.

“To be fair, they didn’t realise there were still people in the cabins.” Thalia put in, having heard this story from both sides.

“That’s no excuse. There is almost always at least one person in the Hermes cabin. And the Aphrodite one.” Travis said bitterly. It was only pure luck that his half sister had been heard and gotten out in time. Silena was equally angry. Two of her siblings had been inside when the fire was started but thankfully they had been close to the door and got out easily enough.

“Your Hunters burned down my cabin?” Now Aphrodite was scowling at Artemis. So was Hermes. The Goddess shrugged.

“I’m sure my Hunters had good reason.”

“There is  _ no _ good reason for burning down cabins that could have people in.” Hermes snapped. “I doubt they even bothered to check.”

“A few of the campers pulled some pranks, which were annoying but harmless on the Hunters because of their superior attitudes. In retaliation, the Hunters set fire to the Hermes cabin and the Aphrodite cabin in retaliation.” Thalia explained. “They thought everybody was at dinner but it turns out a couple of kids weren’t. Nobody was hurt though.”

“Only by luck.” Chris spat. The incident had been just after he got to camp. Aphrodite and Hermes continued glaring at Artemis but eventually the love Goddess continued reading.

**Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.**

All of the Greek demigods scowled angrily.

**"And now there...join the Hunt."**

Nico’s glare intensified. He hated those stupid Hunters.

**"What? But you...Zoe said, "immortality."**

“Because that did her so much good.” Nico muttered sarcastically to himself. Will squeezed his shoulders and rubbed his arm soothingly. He felt really sorry for Nico having to relive all of this.

**I stared at her...which is unlikely.**

Nico didn’t manage to stop himself giving a scathing snort at this. Two Hunters had died during one quest. Hades looked at his son in concern. The lack of Bianca and Nico’s reactions were not giving him a good feeling about where his daughter might be. Maybe Nico was just upset his sister had joined the Hunt and left him behind. He tried to reassure himself with the thought but it still didn’t seem right.

**Or break their oath."...nymphs, mortals—"**

“Really? You let mortals join?” Rachel said interestedly. 

“Not so much these days, although that has more to do with the fact that mortals no longer believe in us.” Artemis told her. “But I did allow mortals to join my Hunt in the ancient days.” Percy looked at Rachel curiously. Did she want to join the Hunters?

**"Which are you, then?"...Nico can't be a Hunter."**

Nico shot Percy a grateful look. At least someone had remembered him.

**"Certainly not,"...that's the best boys can do."**

“You say that like there is something wrong with being at camp.” Apollo said to his sister.

“It is not as good as joining my Hunt.” She shrugged.

“It’s better.” Silena snapped. Normally she didn’t mind Artemis, others were entitled to live however they liked and Silena didn’t mind, but the attitude of her Hunters angered her greatly. They thought all demigods were beneath them but particularly boys.

**"Hey!" I protested..."Free of responsibility."**

Nico frowned. So that was his sister's reason? She didn't want to be responsible for him anymore. Had he been that much of a burden? Was he not enough of a family for his sister? As soon as she had someone else to look after him, she dumped him and ran off. Mind you, two minutes in his company and Percy had wanted to throttle him. Maybe he was just that annoying. He was jerked out of his thoughts by a sharp poke to his ribs.

“Ow!” He glared at Will.

“It’s not your fault your sister didn’t appreciate how great you were.” The son of Apollo told him forcefully.

Hades watched his son and felt a sudden flare of annoyance at his daughter. It was fairly obvious what her choice was going to be but could she not at least discuss her choice with her brother first? His son was only ten years old, thinking he had no parents, and now his only sister was going to abandon him. He did not begrudge Bianca her choice but he felt she could have been more considerate of Nico.

**"Bianca, you can't do this," I said. "It's nuts."**

“Thanks for trying, Perc.” Nico said with a slightly watery smile.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

  
“It’s not your fault. It was her choice.” Percy nodded but he didn’t like it. He felt so bad for Nico.

**She looked at Zoe...the goddess Artemis."**

“Wait! She didn’t even tell you before she became a Hunter?” Will asked in astonishment. Nico shook his head, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

“See, your stupid Hunt is now dividing families.” Aphrodite shot at Artemis.

“The girl is well within her rights to choose.” 

“That’s pretty mean. I can’t even imagine dumping Connor with some random strangers, who apparently live very dangerous lives, and joining some group he couldn’t join without even consulting him.” Travis frowned. “I mean, I consider dumping him off on someone else all the time, but not complete strangers.” He added with a smirk at his brother. Katie smacked him on the arm.

“Don’t be insensitive.” She told him.

“Ow, woman!” Travis complained.

“Oh, I’d be delighted to get away from you.” Connor shot back at his brother.

“Guys, not helping.” Chris muttered, spotting Nico looking even more upset.

“Sorry.” They said in unison.

**"'I turn my back..."I feel… stronger."**

“It is pretty amazing.” Thalia nodded, remembering when she had joined. 

**"Welcome, sister,"...like a trespasser.**

“I can’t believe Arty let you watch that.” Apollo nodded. 

“Don’t call me Arty!” His sister glared at him angrily.

“Sorry sis.” He grinned cheekily in response. Artemis rolled her eyes at his antics.

**And a complete failure...some eternal girls' club.**

“There was nothing you could do. She had every right to choose as she did.” Poseidon told his son.

“You do like to take the blame for things you have no control over, don’t you?” Triton commented, looking at his brother curiously. Percy shrugged.

“I should have tried harder.” A few people rolled their eyes. 

“There is no way you could try harder. You give one hundred and ten percent to everything you do. Especially when it involves helping friends or family.” Annabeth told him. 

“Then my best clearly isn’t good enough.” He shot back. Thalia decided to add that to their list of things to discuss later.

**"Do not despair...he can stay there."**

“Gee, thanks.” Nico muttered bitterly. He was still stuck on the fact that his sister had just abandoned him without a second thought. Percy had fought for him harder than his sister. 

“You know that still applies. You’re always welcome at camp. It’d definitely be better than roaming the wild.” Will told him.

**"Great," I said, trying not to sound surly.**

“I’m sure you failed.” Thalia laughed.

“Well, I certainly understood why you hated them so much.” Percy sighed.

**"How are we...from my brother."**

Apollo sat up eagerly. So he was going to meet Percy properly for the first time. He couldn’t wait to hear Percy’s first impression of him. Would he like him? He certainly seemed to here but still. He hoped that he made a good impression, and that Percy didn’t do anything to upset him. Apollo didn’t want to find out he was one of the Gods who wanted to kill him in the future. He couldn’t even imagine wanting Percy dead right now.

“Ooh, I wonder what Percy thinks of Apollo.” Hermes grinned. His own introduction had been pretty good so he was hoping to get some teasing material on his brother. 

**Zoe didn't look...I really, really do."**

“He’s not the one you should be apologising to.” Will growled. Nico gave a half smile at how defensive of him Will was. 

**Then she was gone...your brother, huh?"**

“I was glum because of Bianca’s choice not about meeting you.” Percy assured Apollo when he saw the God’s affronted look. Apollo grinned.

“Of course. Who could be upset about meeting me? I’m awesome.” 

“I thought we’d already covered this. You’re not awesome.” 

“You don’t really mean that.”

“I totally do.”

“Enough.” Poseidon looked at them both. Though he outwardly seemed to be amused, Apollo could see the warning in his Uncle’s eyes. Ah. Maybe he’d been found out. That would be an interesting conversation.

**Artemis's silver eye...irresponsible twin, Apollo."**

Nico and Apollo both glared at the Goddess for that comment.

“I am not irresponsible.” Apollo protested indignantly. “You’re the one about to chase an ancient monster capable of bringing down Olympus by yourself. I’d call that pretty irresponsible.”

“You are irresponsible, Apollo.” Athena told him with a long suffering sigh.

“Stay out of it, ‘Thena.” He shot back. She glared at him.

“The chapter is over.” Aphrodite interrupted the growing argument. 

“I shall read.” Reyna said before the Gods could begin arguing again. Aphrodite passed her the book and she started reading immediately.


	4. Thalia Torches New England

Everyone turned to look at Thalia who had gone very red and was groaning.

“This just had to be in here.” 

“Of course it did.” Percy smirked. “This was hilarious.”

“No it was not.” Grover muttered.

“It kinda was.” Nico agreed with Percy.

“Why is Thalia torching New England?” Annabeth asked. She hadn’t heard this story. Given by Thalia’s reaction it was embarrassing so nobody had dared to mention it.

“I assume it has something to do with my sun chariot.” Apollo said in amusement. His car was certainly hot enough to do such a thing though he couldn’t imagine letting a demigod drive it, even if she was technically his half sister.

**Artemis assured us...were missing yet.**

“Probably not.” Connor shrugged. “The party probably went on for ages.”

“The Hunters used the mist to sort things out anyway.” Thalia told him. 

**I didn't want...manhunt… again.**

A few people chuckled.

“That is the way your luck seems to go.” Poseidon sighed. 

“It would have been pretty funny.” Thalia smirked.

“No it wouldn’t.” Grover stated firmly. It stressed him out when Percy was the subject of a manhunt.

**The Hunters broke...at all uncomfortable),**

“Magical clothing.” Thalia told him smugly.

“Maybe, if we work with the Athena cabin, we can come up with something like that for demigods.” Beckendorf mused. 

“It’s definitely something to look into.” Annabeth agreed.

**and Artemis stared...brother like that.**

Quite a few people nodded in agreement. Nico felt slightly warm at their defence of him. He wasn’t even sure if some of the people nodding even liked him, like Clarisse. Then a small part of him felt bad for thinking so badly of his sister, especially as she was gone but he shut that part down. He had every right to feel abandoned and a little bitter. Just as she had the right to make that choice, no matter how much it hurt him.

**Thalia and Grover...it didn't go well."**

“Understatement.” Travis muttered. Chiron sighed. He very much hoped that now Thalia was the Lieutenant of Artemis this rivalry between the two groups would die down.

**"How'd they even...That stuck-up, no good—"**

Thalia suddenly looked guilty. “I didn’t mean that. Zoe might be kinda stuck up but she’s a good person.” Nico frowned in disagreement but said nothing out loud. He knew Zoe was the one who had wanted his sister to go on the quest, despite the fact that she had had no training whatsoever.

**"Who can blame her?"...He heaved a big sigh.**

Grover went red as a few people chuckled.

**Thalia rolled her...love you back?"**

“They are not in love with her.” Aphrodite scoffed. “They are merely attracted to her because, with Pan missing, she’s the Goddess most closely associated with protecting nature. It’s obsession, not love.”

Artemis rolled her eyes.

**"But she's so..."You're nuts," said Thalia.**

Grover was now hiding his face in his hands as the laughter increased. 

**"Nuts and berries,"...during the winter."**

“You’re just as lazy in the summer sis.” Apollo said with a smirk. Artemis rolled her eyes but didn’t deign to reply.

**"You're, um, waiting...could drive the sun.**

“Don’t mix science and Godly stuff. It’ll give you a headache.” Beckendorf advised. “Plus, a lot of the science stuff is wrong anyway.” 

“It’s still weird.” Percy shrugged.

“There is a star in the location mortals think the sun is in but it’s just a physical representation. A regular star. The actual ‘sun’ is my chariot which brings the daylight and heat.” Apollo explained.

“That’s no less confusing.” Leo said. 

“It makes perfect sense.” Will told him.

“It would to you. He’s your dad.”

**"It's not exactly...pulling up in a—"**

“Pulling a what?” Apollo asked in amusement. Percy had a pretty wild imagination and he was curious what he thought would happen.

“Nothing.” Percy went a little red.

“Aww, come on. I wanna know.”

“Nope. Can’t remember anyway.”

“You’re a horrible liar.” Apollo told him but let the matter drop for now.

**There was a...Parks?**

Apollo smirked. 

**I averted my eyes...Maserati Spyder.**

His smirk grew wider. Maybe he would reconsider his stance on demigods driving his chariot. A nice morning chariot ride with Percy sounded pretty cool.

**It was so awesome it glowed.**

Apollo burst out laughing. As did a few other people. 

“That does explain why I glow.” Apollo nodded smugly.

“I soon realised that’s not why it was glowing.” Percy told him flatly. Apollo pouted.

**Then I realized it...my old enemy.**

Apollo’s cheerful mood evaporated. Well that was not the good first impression he had hoped to make. He hoped it got better from there. At least Percy didn’t seem uneasy around him now.

Hermes winced at the casual reference to his son as the enemy. 

A few demigods looked at Apollo thoughtfully.

“Yeah. He kinda does.” Annabeth said thoughtfully, having never noticed before.

“Nope.” Will said firmly. He did not appreciate his dad being compared to _him_ in any way, even something as harmless as looks.

**This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks.**

Apollo felt his good mood be restored slightly when Percy thought that he was good looking. Of course, he already knew he was good looking, but he was pleased Percy thought so too.

**But it wasn't Luke...and sneer these days.)**

Hermes sighed. Even when his son wasn’t around in the book he had to keep getting reminders that he had turned evil.

**The Maserati…"Apollo is hot."**

Apollo raised an eyebrow at his half sister who had gone very red and was glaring at Percy. Percy and Grover were both laughing.

“You said it, not me.” Percy told her, once he controlled himself enough so he could talk. Though, the first thought in his mind when that had been read out was ‘she’s not wrong’. Then he wondered where the Hades that thought had come from. Percy sneaked a glance up at the God sitting next to him. He certainly was handsome, not that Percy would _ever_ tell him that. His ego was big enough already.

Annabeth and Jason were both wondering if it had something to do with the fact that he looked like Luke. Both of them suspected that Thalia had had a crush on Luke. Annabeth was certain that his fall to evil was why her friend had joined the Hunters, not just because of the prophecy. She had considered the same thing herself, especially with Percy so oblivious. In the end she hadn’t because she had hoped Percy would feel the same way she did, and acknowledge that fact some day.

**"He's the sun god," I said.**

Several people face palmed. Apollo sighed. Well, Percy being oblivious may work in his favour. He was well aware of Percy’s many suitors, even if the young man himself was not.

“I don’t think that’s what she meant.” Silena laughed.

“No but it does explain a lot.” Rachel muttered.

**"That's not...I was getting worried!"**

Artemis rolled her eyes.

“You worry too much.” She told her brother. He sighed. Was it so wrong to want to protect his sister? She certainly seemed to think so. Yet he had done so all his life, pretty much from when he was born and had killed Python.

**Artemis sighed...we have to argue—"**

“I helped mother with birthing you. Obviously I am older.” Artemis rolled her eyes once more. Apollo smirked at her. It was easy to wind her up.

**"So what's up?"...some tips on archery?"**

“No they do not.” Artemis said through gritted teeth.

“Ah, some extra tips never hurt.” Apollo grinned widely.

**Artemis grit her...Camp Half-Blood."**

“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Apollo told her.

“I agree with Apollo.” Athena spoke up.

“Well, there is not a lot I can do about it now.” Artemis reminded them both. 

**"Sure, sis!" Then...Hunters all groaned.**

“What’s wrong with my poetry?” Apollo pouted.

“Er, nothing Apollo.” Percy told him soothingly before he could start spouting poetry to prove how ‘wonderful’ it was. “They obviously just don’t appreciate you.” Apollo nodded.

“That is true.” He turned back to the reading and all the Greek campers nodded at Percy in thanks. Will especially did not want to have to tell his dad how awful his poems were.

**Apparently they'd met Apollo...waiting for applause.**

“The last line was only four syllables.” Will told his father, unable to help himself.

“That’s your biggest concern with that poem?” Chris leaned over to whisper to Will. Will bit back a chuckle.

“You get used to it.” He replied.

“Oh yes.” Apollo frowned to himself, having missed the whispered conversation.

“You corrected yourself.” Nico said quickly before Apollo could come up with something else.

**"That last line was...am so big-headed?"**

A few people chuckled.

**"No, no, that's...goddess from Sparta—"**

“I like Sparta.” Ares put in randomly. 

“Yeah. Better Haikus than Limericks.” Will nodded.

“You don’t like my Limericks?” Apollo asked his son.

“They weren’t your best work.” Will admitted slowly. Apollo frowned. He would have to think up some more good ones. 

**"I've got it!" Apollo announced...pleased with himself.**

“But big-headed is far more accurate.” Percy laughed.

“Hey!” The God protested.

“It’s true. You keep constantly going on about how awesome you are.”

“But I am.” Apollo pouted.

“Sure.” Percy said sarcastically.

“See, you admitted it!”

“I was being sarcastic!”

“You were just using sarcasm to make me think you don’t mean it when you really do.” Apollo told him triumphantly. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Totally. That’s what I was doing.” He said with even more sarcasm.

“Glad you agree.”

“I didn’t…”

“Will you both be quiet.” Poseidon interrupted. Percy and Apollo both stopped talking. “Better.” The sea God sighed gratefully. Annabeth, Rachel and Nico were all staring at the pair with matching frowns. 

**"And now, sis...all about you."**

“I suspect all of us would have.” Artemis stated. “It’s not often one of father’s children basically comes back to life.”

"Or any demigod really." Hermes pointed out.

**Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."**

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Thalia who glared back.

**"Zeus's girl, yes?...I remember one time—"**

“Yes. I do hate that.” Apollo said darkly. His heart may have recovered enough to make jokes but he would always miss Daphne. And Hyacinthus. He had sworn never to fall in love with another mortal after that. Not truly anyway. He had brief flings, which resulted in his demigod kids, but he had never been drawn to anyone the way he had those two. Until now. He definitely was not in love with Percy but there was something about him and Apollo knew that falling in love with him would be dangerously easy.

**"Brother," Artemis said...yes, sir."**

“Good catch.” Annabeth told him with a laugh.

“I’m impressed you bothered at all.” Thalia said. Triton frowned. His half brother was disrespectful to the Gods? How was his still alive?

“I do try to be respectful.” Percy protested. “When I know they are a God and their Aura isn’t affecting me.” He glanced at Dionysus and Ares. “I was perfectly polite to Uncle Hades.” 

Persephone blinked in surprise. Not only had the boy been polite to her husband, he also openly called him ‘Uncle’. Hades caught her surprised expression and nodded.

“He is certainly unusual.” He murmured to her.

**It seemed weird...they blew stuff up.**

“Ah, I wouldn’t blow you up for not calling me ‘sir’.” Apollo told him with a smile. 

“Well, I wasn’t sure back then.” Percy shrugged.

“Better safe than sorry.” Hermes nodded.

**Apollo studied me...a little creepy.**

Apollo frowned. He wondered why he didn’t even say hi to Percy. Maybe he had a vague notion the prophecy was about Percy, regardless of Thalia being back. That would explain his behaviour. He hoped he liked Percy in the future, though he couldn’t imagine not liking him.

**"Well!" he said at...basketball games.**

“Useful.” Will grinned.

“I give rides to Arty’s Hunters sometimes so I need to be able to fit quite a few in.” Apollo explained.

“Don’t call me Arty!” 

**"Right," he said...Let me get that."**

“Don’t flirt with my Hunters!” Artemis growled in exasperation.

“Sorry.” Apollo smirked, clearly not sorry in the slightest.

**Zoe recoiled...them sweetheart."**

“Some things will never change.” Demeter sighed.

**Apollo spread his hands...no messing around!"**

“I should know better. He can’t help messing around.” Artemis sighed.

“You’ve gotta have some fun in life.” Hermes shrugged.

“Exactly.” Connor agreed. “Life’s not fun if you don’t mess around.”

“There are appropriate times to mess around and times where it is inappropriate.” Katie said firmly.

“So you admit there are times for messing around?” Travis grinned gleefully. Katie winced and didn’t reply.

**"No, no! I never mess around."**

A few of the Gods snorted.

**Artemis rolled her...snow and shadows.**

Apollo scowled at the floor. He wished his sister would have trusted him and let him go with her.

**Apollo turned and...wants to drive?"**

“You’re letting one of them drive?” Artemis raised an eyebrow. “You never let anyone drive your chariot.”

“I know.” Apollo frowned. “I don’t know why I would.” 

**The Hunters piled...highly infectious males,**

A few people laughed while Silena and Aphrodite rolled their eyes.

**Bianca sat with them...seemed cold to me,**

Nico was glad it wasn’t only him who thought that. 

“Seriously?” Will scowled. “She’s just joined some girls only group and will be soon going off without Nico and she can’t even be bothered to sit with him for one car ride?” 

“She probably just wanted to get to know the group she will be spending her future with.” Reyna offered. She agreed with Percy. It was cold of Bianca to do that but it was the only thing she could think of.

**but Nico didn't seem to mind.**

Nico sighed. At least he hid it well. He had minded. Quite a lot. But he knew there was no point bringing it up.

**"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat.**

Percy grinned as Nico went bright red once again. Nico’s blush wasn’t helped by Will cooing about how adorable he was.

“I hate these books.” Nico grumbled.

“Join the club.” Percy told him dryly.

**"Is this really the sun?...got this cool car."**

The Romans all winced a little. They hadn’t really thought about that.

**"But how does it...fiery ball of gas.**

“Really? That’s where that came from?” Will asked curiously.

“Probably.” Apollo shrugged. “She certainly said it enough.”

**Seriously, kid...perceive it. Make sense?"**

“Yep.” Will nodded.

“No.” Said most of the rest of the room. A lot of the demigods struggled to mix their Godly half and their mortal half, especially when it came to things like that. They usually just tried not to think about it.

**Nico shook his head. "No."**

“I’ll explain it later.” Will told him.

“That’s quite alright.” Nico said. He did not want to sit through a lecture on that again. The one in the book was enough.

**"Well then......"Too furry."**

“Too furry to drive?” Beckendorf asked.

“Don’t want goat fur all over my seat.” Apollo shrugged.

“Or you had someone specific in mind.” Hermes muttered.

**He looked past..."Lord of the sky. Perfect."**

“Or not.” Grover mumbled.

“Definitely not.” Percy agreed.

“Never again.” Nico stated, although he had thought it great fun at the time.

“Oh shut up.” Thalia stuck her tongue out at all of them in turn. Apollo raised an eyebrow. Was Thalia not a good driver? Maybe he should just keep to his rule about nobody but him driving.

**"Oh, no." Thalia...but much more slowly.**

“That’s weird.” Leo said.

“Tell me about it.” Thalia complained.

**Apollo tapped his...in about a week."**

The Gods all exchanged looks. They wondered if Kronos had somehow known how old Thalia was when he planned to bring her back.

Zeus also realised that his daughter must become a Hunter at some point in this story as it happened less than a week later. He wondered what drove her to that decision. Why would she not want to be the one who saved Olympus?

**"That's my birthday!...driving the sun chariot."**

“I doubt that’s what she was going to say.” Dionysus rolled his eyes.

**"That's not...you out of the sky."**

“You really said that with Percy standing right there? A son of Poseidon.” Artemis rolled her eyes at her brother.

  
“Oh. I didn’t even think of that.” Apollo winced. He hoped nothing had gone wrong because he had forgotten Percy wasn’t supposed to fly.

“He would be protected because he is in your domain.” Athena told Apollo. He nodded.

“But still, hearing about someone being blasted out of the sky in your chariot was not comforting.” Percy added.

“Sorry.” Apollo said.

**Apollo laughed...STUDENT DRIVER.**

“Well that warning was definitely necessary.” Grover muttered.

**"Take it away!"...gonna be a natural!"**

“Seriously? Not only are you letting a mortal drive your chariot, it’s a mortal who has never driven anything before?” Poseidon glared at his nephew. His son was in that car and if anything had gone wrong he could have been hurt. Badly, knowing Percy’s luck.

**I'll admit I was...different could it be?**

“Just a little.” Will laughed. He was also feeling a little jealous. He would love to drive his dad’s chariot. 

“Driving is driving. Besides, I’m better than Thalia.” Percy said.

“That’s not hard.” Nico muttered. Thalia glared at him and Percy. Everyone was now feeling a little apprehensive about how this ride would go. Obviously they all made it to Camp alive but still...

**"Speed equals heat,"...going to be sick.**

Zeus frowned at his daughter. He wondered why she was so against this.

**"What's wrong?”..."N-nothing is wrong."**

“Convincing.” Annabeth said sarcastically.

“Shut up!”

**She pulled back..."Sorry."**

“At least you had a soft landing.” Nico grumbled. 

“I didn’t.” Grover complained.

**"Slower!" Apollo said...we'd taken off.**

“Yep. Totally under control.” Beckendorf remarked sarcastically.

“It didn’t get any better.” Percy told him.

**"Thalia," I said...she kept it floored.**

“For once, listen to Percy.” Annabeth said.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have let her drive.” Apollo said sheepishly.

“Maybe?” Hermes raised an eyebrow. 

“I wonder why she is so bad?” Athena frowned. Thalia grimaced. She did not want everyone finding out she was scared of heights. It was like the ultimate joke. Plus, she did not want to see her dad’s reaction. Then she remembered Percy had realised her fear and she admitted it to him. Oh she was going to kill that boy!

**"Loosen up," I told her...made out of plywood.**

“So, very loose then.” Leo joked.

**"We need to veer...Apollo suggested.**

A few people laughed.

**I made the mistake...starting to look black.**

“Too high.” Apollo winced.

“This was a terrible idea.” Artemis scolded her brother.

“Yes. I see that now.” He acknowledged.

**"Ah…" Apollo said...Cape Cod is freezing over."**

“I heard about that.” Rachel snickered. “It was on the news as freak weather.”

“Yeah. I remember hearing something about Cape Cod weather being weird.” Piper nodded.

“No freak weather. Just a terrible driver.” Percy laughed.

**Thalia tilted the...seen her like this.**

Zeus was concerned. It sounded like his daughter was frightened of something but he could not work out what it was.

**The bus pitched down...has to learn to—WHOA!"**

“You’re still letting her drive!?” Hephaestus asked in astonishment. “Not even Ares is this bad.” 

“I’m sure everything worked out.” Apollo said, though his voice was a little concerned. Artemis would kill him if anything happened to any of her Hunters.

**I saw what he...rooftops were catching fire.**

“Apollo!” Now even Zeus was yelling at his son.

“Yep. Lesson learnt. Never let anyone else drive the chariot.” Apollo nodded. Artemis scoffed and he grinned. Alright, he would at least check the next person could drive before he let them try.

**"Pull up!" I yelled...sudden blast of cold.**

“So it was just randomly either so hot stuff caught fire or freezing over.” Jason looked at his sister in amusement. He recalled that she didn’t like heights but he hadn’t realised it was quite this bad. 

“Yep. No middle ground with Thalia driving.” Percy snickered.

**"There!" Apollo pointed...'Dead' is only an expression."**

There was more laughter at this.

**Thalia was thundering..."I'm under control."**

“Clearly.” Clarisse said sarcastically.

**We were only...wicker baskets.**

“The poor Naiads.” Silena frowned.

“Poor us.” Grover muttered.

“It was pretty funny when you guys crashed.” Connor admitted with a grin.

“I was just glad to stop moving.” Percy told him.

**The bus bobbed...important, shall we?"**

“Love how casual you are about that.” Will laughed at his dad.

“Chapter is over.” Reyna announced.

“I think that makes it my turn.” Piper said. Reyna gave her the book.

“I think we should take a break.” Chiron stated before Piper could begin. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Poseidon wondered who to talk to first. He needed to have a conversation with Apollo, the one he had postponed when they had the evening off. But he also wanted a word with Chiron about why he really hadn’t taught Percy about the mist. His choice was made for him when Chiron came over and asked for a quick work with Percy. The two left the room and Poseidon turned to his nephew.

“We need to speak.” Apollo gulped but nodded. He followed the sea God out of the room and to his personal quarters. Apollo definitely did not want to have this conversation right now. Or at all really. Once they were inside, Poseidon shut the door and gestured for Apollo to sit down, which he did. However the sea God remained standing which made him a little nervous. 

“So…” Apollo began, wanting to break the silence even if he didn’t know what to say.

“What exactly are your intentions with my son?” Poseidon asked briskly, a stern expression on his face that made Apollo want to sink through the floor. He was an ancient God and here he was getting ‘the talk’ from a concerned father! About a guy he wasn’t even dating!

“Er...intentions? Well, I mean...we’re friends. I hope. Percy’s a good kid. Plenty of fun. Quite funny too.” Apollo said, rambling just a little. He shut up when Poseidon raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that quite clearly said ‘do you think I’m stupid?’. He bit back a groan. “Oh, alright I like the guy.” He admitted. Poseidon frowned.

“You have romantic interest in him? You are not just flirting for fun?” Apollo swallowed. He wasn’t sure which answer would upset his uncle more.

“Umm, yes. I have some potential romantic interest in him.” He made sure to stress the ‘potential’ part. No need to confess to more than he had to. Poseidon seemed unhappy enough as it was.

“Percy is fifteen.” Poseidon stated grimly.

  
“Almost sixteen.” Apollo put in without thinking. He regretted that. His uncle glared at him and he swallowed nervously, making a mental note to keep his mouth shut.

“ _Fifteen_.” He reiterated.

“I know how old he is.” Apollo said grumpily. Well keeping his mouth shut didn’t last long. Poseidon’s glare intensified. But Apollo sighed. It was hard to forget Percy’s age. The fact had been on his mind quite a lot in the past couple of days. “I said I liked him. Not that I was going to do anything about it.”

“Oh yes. You’re not going to do anything about it. _That’s_ why you’ve been almost constantly flirting with him.” Poseidon said sarcastically.

“Hey, you know that’s just my nature. I can’t help it.” Apollo complained. Poseidon sighed. He knew Apollo would not have admitted anything if he was not already deadly serious, no matter how casual he tried to act. He also knew that when his nephew loved, he loved deeply but he was still concerned for both Apollo and Percy. 

He worried that Apollo was already far beyond merely _liking_ Percy and if Poseidon allowed this to continue, and his son did not return the God’s feelings, then his nephew would end up heartbroken. And that never ended well for anybody. A heartbroken Apollo was a very dangerous Apollo. Also, he could already sense Percy’s feelings towards the Gods in general were not particularly positive and, while he did seem very friendly with Apollo, Poseidon doubted he would return the God’s feelings. There was also the matter of Percy’s age although he would not stay fifteen forever. Plus, Poseidon didn’t really want to think about his son dating. Like ever. 

On the other hand, if he did allow Apollo to continue his attempts to eventually date Percy then it was likely that one day his son would become immortal. And he selfishly wanted to keep his son forever. Not to mention, if Percy were immortal, Poseidon could stop worrying about him as much. It seemed like once Percy was born in this time, he wouldn’t have time for anything _other_ than worrying about Percy, the boy was so prone to finding the worst kinds of trouble. There was also the bonus that, if they were dating, Percy would have another God protecting him, besides Poseidon himself. Apollo would allow no harm to come to those he loved and Percy could use all the protection he could get. Provided his son did actually like Apollo in the same fashion. Judging by the books, his son had quite the crush on Athena’s daughter. There were so many variables and ways it could go wrong. Still, Poseidon figured that Percy should at least be allowed the choice.

“I will not forbid you from attempting to court Percy.” Poseidon said slowly and Apollo’s face lit up. Yes. His nephew was far beyond merely liking Percy. “However, obviously this is Percy’s choice anyway but should he choose, at any point, to enter a relationship with you there will be rules.” He glared at Apollo to make sure he understood. “And very serious consequences for breaking them.”

“Understood. Thank you, Uncle.” Apollo smiled, gratitude plain on his face.

And, I will be watching you.” He added, resisting the urge to smirk at the nervous look that flashed across his nephew’s face. Apollo nodded. That was better, far better than he had expected. The sea God nodded to him and he knew he was dismissed. Making his way out of the room, Apollo began thinking. He had some planning to do.

*****************************************************

Chiron and Percy started walking around the gardens. Percy wondered why Chiron wanted to speak with him. He couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong recently. 

“Percy I owe you an apology.” The Centaur let out a regretful sigh.

“What?” Percy frowned in confusion.

“It seems I owe you a few actually. However, I had not realised it bothered you this much that I had not taught you how to manipulate the mist.” Percy groaned inwardly. He hated these stupid books.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind anymore.” He protested. Chiron raised an eyebrow. “Ok, so I was wondering why but…” He trailed off. What could he say. He hadn’t thought about it in a while but these books were bringing up a lot of his old insecurities.

“There are a few reasons.” Chiron told him. “Firstly I have been a teacher for a long time, Percy. I have watched many great heroes die too young. Sometimes the only way to stay sane is the way the Gods take, to keep some distance. To not get attached. This is harder for me because to train you, I have to be around. I cannot be absent like they are. So when I realised you were likely to be the child of the prophecy, I thought there was a fairly good chance you would not live past sixteen.”

“So does the prophecy say something about me dying?” Percy asked. Chiron grimaced.

  
“I suspect the full prophecy will come up in these books but yes, there is a line about a death. Who’s is not definite.” The Centaur admitted. Percy frowned. Despite what Chiron said about it not being definite, it sounded like he thought it did mean Percy. Plus that would fit with him seeing the Fates back when he was twelve. Great. Once they got back to their time he had about two weeks left to live. “Add in the fact that the last child of the Big Three did not even make it to Camp, I suspected you would have a short life as much as I wished otherwise. So I kept my distance. I allowed my fear to get in the way of my teaching and for that I apologise as well.”

Percy thought about it. If he knew someone was going to die in a couple of years would he do the same thing? Would he not want to get close to them? But then, it was different for Chiron. He had been watching people die for millennia. 

“That doesn’t explain why you then taught Thalia but not me once she became a Hunter.” Percy pointed out.

“No. But it is part of the reason. I allowed my fear to cloud my judgement. But, in addition to that, children of Poseidon have never had much success at using the mist. It requires a lot of focus and concentration of which they have even less than most demigods because of the ever changing nature of the sea. You’ve already seen how your changeable nature can make you more or less susceptible to magic. Your emotions help you break spells put on you but in instances where you do not have strong emotions, you are weaker than others.” Chiron explained.

  
“Yeah. I got that.” Percy nodded. His dad had already explained some of this and the other stuff he had worked out from the reading. 

“So, there is a distinct possibility you may never be able to manipulate the mist at all. I did not want you to get caught up in trying to learn one ability and neglect your other training.”

  
“I wouldn’t…” Percy began.

“It is already clear you do not like failing.” Chiron said with an amused smile. “You would have insisted on continuing to try until you achieved your goal. An admirable quality but if it stopped you practising your sword play, or other vital skills…” He trailed off but Percy got the picture. And he knew Chiron was right. “However I did not want to have to tell you that you might be unable to learn so I avoided the topic altogether. I see now that was not my best idea.” Percy nodded. 

He could sort of see where Chiron was coming from. If he mentioned it and told Percy he might never be able to learn, Percy would want to prove him wrong. If Chiron had started teaching him and he sucked at it, he would feel even worse about himself, and about Thalia being able to do it, plus he would then have tried even harder to learn. Which might well have led to him not doing other training. Or doing something else like skipping sleep. On the other hand, what if he was able to control the mist? It would have come in super useful in a lot of situations.

“I do understand.” Percy said slowly. “But I’d like to try and learn. To see if I can do it.” Chiron nodded.

“I will teach you what I can. Although I suggest having different lessons from the others. I suspect you do not wish the others to be watching, should you be unable to control the mist.” He suspected the other campers would tease Percy and he had more than enough self esteem issues going on. It still upset Chiron that he had not noticed before, even if he was keeping his distance. 

“Yeah.” Percy nodded. He did not want Thalia watching him fail completely. He’d never hear the end of it. Although, she had been weirdly nice and sensitive since they had arrived here. She didn’t tease him anywhere nearly as much as there wasn’t the slight edge there had always been.

“Right. I suspect you wish to go and find some food before we resume reading.” Chiron said with a knowing smile. Percy nodded eagerly. Before he left, he turned around and hugged the Centaur. Despite a few issues, he knew Chiron would always have his best interests at heart and Percy could never express enough how much it meant to him. Chiron looked so taken aback that Percy almost laughed at his expression but after a few seconds he hugged him back. Then Percy let go and ran off towards the dining hall, leaving a slightly bemused Centaur standing in the gardens.

After another hour, everyone made their way back to the throne room and took up their previous seats. Percy noted that Apollo looked quite pleased about something and his dad was clearly lost in thought.

“You defeated a Fury and the Minotaur with no training?” Triton asked in astonishment. Those who had arrived late had started catching up on the books. It was going a lot quicker for them because there were far fewer interruptions. They had each been given a copy of the book so they could read separately which also sped up the process.

“Er, yeah.” Percy nodded. Triton was studying him curiously, though there was less of the disdain than there had been. 

“Impressive.” He said grudgingly. 

“Percy is the best.” Tyson grinned toothily.

“Thanks, Ty.” Percy grinned back. 

“Ok, everyone settled?” Piper asked as she picked the book back up and turned to the proper page. Everyone nodded.


	5. I Place an Underwater Phone Call

“You called your dad?” Annabeth asked with a frown. Poseidon raised an eyebrow. He sort of hoped his son would call him but it would certainly be strange. Percy hadn’t shown much inclination to speak with him so far, not enough to actually call him anyway.

“No. I called Tyson.” Percy explained. That made more sense. It still stung a little that his son didn’t feel he could just call him whenever he wanted.

**I'd never seen...surprised me.**

“Why?” Clarisse sneered.

“Because of the magic boundaries. I didn’t realise you guys would let the snow in.” He shrugged.

“How else would we have snowball fights?” Travis asked with a grin.

**See, the camp...balls of real fire.**

“They were.” Silena confirmed for the Romans.

“It sounds pretty.” Gwen smiled.

“It is. Maybe you guys could come for a visit some time?” Beckendorf suggested. Everyone turned to Chiron while the Gods looked doubtful.

“Let us see what happens in the books first.” Chiron said. Everyone nodded at that.

**More lights glowed...there or something.**

Everyone burst out laughing at this.

“Man your mind is weird.” Chris said, shaking his head in amusement. Percy grinned.

**"Whoa," Nico said...Hunters, follow me."**

A few of the Greek campers scowled at her attitude. 

**"I'll show you...Come on!"**

“Really, Grover?” Annabeth shook her head.

“I can’t believe you were still trailing after them like a lost puppy. It was pretty clear they were stuck up little...” Silena trailed off under a glare from Artemis. Aphrodite was nodding along with her daughter’s words.

**Zoe rolled her eyes...scowled and turned away.**

“What was that about?” Will whispered to Nico.

“She was asking if I’d be alright if she went with them. Not that I had much choice.” Nico scoffed bitterly. Will squeezed his arm comfortingly.

**"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters.**

Artemis rolled her eyes.

**He winked at me...I'll see you soon."**

“Seriously, first you just look at me weirdly and then say something like that.” Percy complained.

“What? I thought you’d be delighted that you get to see me again soon.” Apollo smirked.

“Nope.” Percy replied flatly.

“You’re so mean.”

“I think your ego can take it. In fact, it’ll probably do it good.” Apollo put a hand on his chest and put on an exaggeratedly hurt face but Piper started reading before he could reply. 

**"What do you mean?"..."And, uh, be good!"**

“Half bloods usually aren’t.” Dionysus drawled.

**He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't.**

“Of course I did. I am the God of Prophecy after all.” Apollo said smugly. 

**Then he closed the...in a ray of sunlight.**

Apollo sighed. He hoped his future self was correct and that he would see Percy again soon.

**Nico was still...have his figurine."**

“Does Chiron have a figurine?” Frank asked.

“No. He really should.” Nico frowned.

“I’m not one for that sort of thing.” Chiron told them firmly. 

**"Our activities director,"...Let's go."**

“You should show some respect.” Artemis glared at the boy. Nico glared right back.

**The second thing...many of them, either.**

The Gods frowned.

“Surely not that many joined father?” Hades asked anxiously.

“Quite a few, yes. But a lot of demigods were also out on missions or helping Satyr’s get new campers to Camp, that sort of thing. We needed all hands on deck.” Connor explained, glancing at Chris. He knew it was around this time that Clarisse had found his half brother.

**I spotted Charles Beckendorf...outside the camp armory.**

Beckendorf grinned at his brief mention. 

**The Stoll brothers...the camp store.**

Hermes high fived his kids while Katie whacked Travis on the arm. Chiron gave them both stern looks but was clearly biting back a fond smile. As annoying as their stealing habits were, it had been good to see them behaving normally.

**A few kids from...seem to be around.**

“I was on a mission.” Clarisse stated at the look she got from her father. Ares nodded. Chris wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled at his girlfriend. He would be forever grateful for what she had done for him.

**The Big House was...another one lost."**

“How can you be so casual about my daughter being missing?” Athena glared at the wine God.

“It sounds like it’s a common occurrence.” Dionysus yawned.

“Honestly, what could Mr D do though?” Percy asked. Dionysus’ attitude had always angered him but his recent talk with Chiron had made him think about a few things. “He’s not actually allowed to be any more involved than the rest of you really. It’s Athena’s daughter who is missing, but she isn’t out there searching for her. I agree, Dionysus could at least not act so callously but he can’t help much either.”

The wine God did a double take at the brat’s defense of him.

“Oh yes, because you were so understanding back then.” Thalia scoffed, recalling how close Percy had come to being incinerated.

  
“I admit I didn’t get it then.” Percy shrugged. “And I should probably apologise for the way I’m about to behave in the book. I honestly would have deserved being turned into a dolphin but in my defence, one of my best friends was missing and my Camp Director was acting like he could have cared less. So, no, I didn’t appreciate his attitude, but I also didn’t realise exactly how much his hands were tied too.” Poseidon smiled proudly at his son. He had definitely grown, even in the few days since they had come to Olympus. 

Dionysus eyed the sea brat appraisingly. It surprised him that he had been the one who had noticed that his hands were tied. He could not go out and search for every demigod who went missing, nor could he interfere on their missions to help them. He was just grateful he wouldn’t have to go to that blasted Camp anymore. Still, he was apprehensive about the boy’s confession that he probably deserved to be turned into a dolphin. They had already read how rude and impulsive he could be. Dionysus bit back a groan. At least he had apologised.

**I'd been trying...purple running shoes.**

Most of the demigods pulled horrified faces, even the ones who were used to seeing Mr D’s attire. 

“You actually wear that?” Aphrodite screeched.

“Mr D has running shoes?” Chris said in surprise.

“There is nothing wrong with my outfit.” Dionysus snapped, just wanting this chapter to be done with already despite the fact that they had only just started.

**(Like Mr. D had...last hand of cards.**

“He actually won?” Chiron asked in surprise.

“I guess so. Or he just felt like wearing it.” Percy shrugged.

“I won!” Dionysus crowed gleefully. He took a large sip of wine to celebrate.

**"What do you mean?”...like a slap mark.**

“What did you do?” Annabeth asked Grover.

“Nothing.” He said sheepishly.

  
“Evidently it wasn’t nothing.” Artemis raised an eyebrow. Grover blushed and refused to say more.

**"The Hunters are...him our orientation film."**

“Oh sure. He gets to see the Orientation film.” Percy complained good naturedly. 

“You really didn’t miss much.” Will assured him.

“But if it means that much to you, we can show it to you when we get back to camp.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"But… Oh, right...search for Annabeth immediately."**

“Thank you.” Athena nodded to Chiron while Annabeth smiled gratefully.

**"I'll go," Thalia and I said at the same time.**

“Just not together.” Clarisse said. “Not just the two of you anyway. You’d kill each other before you managed to find Annabeth.” 

“Na. We’d work it out.” 

“Like what happened at the creek, work it out?” Grover asked dryly. Both of them blushed.

**Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"**

“Why you…” Athena began furiously.

“Oh do use that brain of yours.” Dionysus snapped. “Yes it’s a shame your daughter is missing but as we suspected she had been taken by a Manticore it is not worth risking losing more children in an attempt to find her. We are at war.” Athena gaped at him.

“He’s right.” Ares spoke up. “We can’t afford to lose any more of our children needlessly.”

“Needlessly?” 

“Yes. Needlessly. Especially as Thalia and Percy are the ones who would be most likely sent after her. It would take the most powerful demigods to take on a manticore and they had already lost a fight against him. What would happen if Kronos captured either of them? He could use them against Olympus. Your daughter is not worth that risk.” Ares stated. Athena gritted her teeth. She knew Ares was right, it would be a poor strategy to send the two demigods Kronos’ wanted most, right into his hands. Still, that was her daughter!

**Thalia and I both...didn't shut up.**

“Let me guess, you ignore the warning signs.” Reyna stated. She would have found it funny had he not been showing such disrespect to a God.

**"From what you...lost Annie Bell—"**

“That was partly what set me off.” Percy stated. “Annabeth had been at Camp for seven years by this point and he was still pretending not to know her name.” 

“To be honest, if Percy hadn’t snapped at him I would have.” Thalia admitted.

**"Annabeth," I snapped...know her name.**

Athena glared at Dionysus once more but Chiron sighed. He knew it was the God’s coping method for spending so long around the children and constantly watching them die. Still Dionysus could at least show the demigods he did care a little. His attitude was probably a large factor in why some of the demigods had joined Kronos. Chiron himself had spent much longer being very close with the children and watching them die. It obviously wasn’t the same when it was Dionysus’ own children but for the others, he didn’t have to be so callous.

**"Yes, yes," he said...to replace her.**

Nico scowled. He was not just some replacement for a missing camper. 

“One demigod does not simply replace another.” Hermes frowned at Dionysus.

**So I see no point...Annie girl is dead."**

Athena sighed. The logic was sound but it still hurt to hear it. Then she wondered how her daughter had been rescued.

**I wanted to strangle...punishment for all of us.**

“Oh believe me, it’s definitely a punishment.” Dionysus stated as he glared at Percy. “And you would do well to watch your words.”

“Hey, these are just my private thoughts to which I am entitled. In my own head I can say what the heck I like. And I apologised for the bit that’s coming up.” 

“Indeed. Percy cannot be blamed for the thoughts in his own mind.” Poseidon said sternly to Dionysus. The wine God grumbled about the disrespect but nobody paid him any attention.

**"Annabeth may be...pretend to cooperate."**

Annabeth smiled, pleased Chiron had such faith in her.

**"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."**

Athena bit her lower lip. While she was pleased her daughter was alive, she did not like to think of her captive by that madman.

**"In which case" said Mr. D...escape on her own."**

“If anyone could, it would be Annabeth.” Grover smiled.

“Not if she didn’t want to escape.” Percy muttered to himself. He suspected that Annabeth hadn’t even really thought about escape. She had been too busy trying to convince Luke to come back to their side. Not that she would have gotten far with so many monsters nearby. 

**I got up from the...I didn't care.**

Poseidon winced.

**"You're glad to..."You have a point?"**

“I see why they get so angry.” Apollo muttered. His half brother’s blatant disregard for their lives was a bit disturbing. Then he wondered if the rest of them were any better, it just didn’t seem quite so bad because they didn’t live with the demigods at their camp. 

**"Yeah," I growled. "Just...try helping out a little!"**

“PERCY!” Annabeth yelled.

“Seriously. How is he alive?” Frank whispered to Hazel.

“I literally have no idea.” She whispered back.

  
“Sorry. Sorry.” Percy shrunk down on the couch under the weight of so many people looking at him. Triton stared at his half brother in complete astonishment. He did not understand how he was still alive and not transformed into some creature. Hades, even their father would have punished him if he dared speak that way to him. It certainly did not endear the boy to him and he wondered if he could convince his father not to have him in this timeline. Dionysus half rose out of his seat in a fury 

“YOU DARE…” He thundered before he trailed off, too furious for actual words.

“Damn.” Apollo whistled. “I think even I’d be tempted to blast you for that.” 

“Percy. For some reason, none of the Gods have yet killed you for your blatant disrespect but that does not mean you can say or do whatever you please.” Poseidon told his son. “Bratty and annoying he may be, but Dionysus  _ is _ still a God.” Said God glared at him for that statement.

“I know.” Percy sighed. “I was angry and grieving. And I can’t change what happens in these books. I promise to be more respectful now though.” The sea God nodded. He couldn’t ask for more than that. Percy had acknowledged that he was wrong and apologised. This was only the third book, he thought in consternation. There were another six books left. That left a lot of opportunity for Percy to offend more Gods. Still, he shouldn’t be punished for something he could not change or had not even done yet. He also really did wonder what had stopped the wine God from doing something rather nasty to his son. Had he managed to intervene? He could not imagine intervening in such a matter without at least giving Percy a stern talking to.

After a few moments, Piper nervously started reading again.

**For a second, there...wine dude? No way!"**

Poseidon let out a relieved chuckle. So this was how his son had wriggled out of punishment. 

“Wine dude?” Dionysus scowled.

“Yeah. That’s what Apollo calls you in the orientation video.” Nico told him, face red with embarrassment.

“Wine dude?” Dionysus now turned to Apollo who smirked.

“It fitted into the poem.” He shrugged. 

“You will take it out of that blasted video.” 

“No can do, I’m afraid.” Apollo put on a fake sad face which made Dionysus scowl even more.

“I can’t believe you called Mr D ‘wine dude’.” Will smirked at Nico.

“Me either.” Nico said dryly. While he hated everything he had been through, he was quite glad he was no longer that hyperactive ten year old. 

**Mr. D turned his...powers are sweet!"**

Nico buried his face in his hands at this. 

“What’s so good about them?” Frank asked curiously. 

“Power over mental illness and insanity. You wouldn’t function if your brain was turned to mush.” Nico shrugged, his voice muffled by his hands.

“He does have some cool powers.” Percy admitted, thinking about the way he had healed Chris with ease. “Also, kind of terrifying.” His mind turned to later in that quest to find Annabeth.

**"Ah." Mr. D seemed..."Well, that's… gratifying."**

“Yeah. Thanks for that Nico.” Percy said with a grin. “That was some good timing there.”

“Anytime.” Nico smiled back.

**"Percy," Chiron said quickly...flag tomorrow evening."**

“Urgh.” The Greeks all complained while Artemis looked smug. She knew her Hunters always won.

“A game? Should they not be preparing for war?” Ares frowned.

“It is tradition.” Chiron told him.

**"Capture the flag?"... the Hunters visit."**

“It is  _ not _ friendly.” Silena scoffed.

  
“That’s because you always lose.” Thalia smiled.

“You were on the demigod side last time so you’ve never actually won.” Percy reminded her.

“Plus the Hunter’s cheat.” Silena said.

“What do you mean?” Artemis asked. “My Hunter’s do not need to cheat to be superior to demigods.” All of the demigods glared at that comment.

“Because they don’t play by the Camp rules. They don’t get punished for maiming us because they don’t stay at Camp long enough.” Katie pointed out.

“Well, it’s not like the punishment is much of a deterrent.” Poseidon snorted, recalling when his son had been attacked in the first book by the Ares campers. “You lose your dessert privilege.” 

“Maybe so but it does still stop us from doing so.” Beckendorf shrugged. “We respect the rules.” He glanced at Clarisse. “Mostly, anyway. The Hunter’s don’t even try to play fairly and abide by the rules. We can’t even use our powers. Not actively anyway.”

“That’s to stop the Camp from exploding.” Chiron put in, looking between Thalia and Percy who both grinned.

“Well next time, I will tell my Hunters they are to play by your Camp rules and they will still prove superior.” Artemis said with a smug expression.

“We’ll see about that.” Silena muttered angrily.

**"Yeah," Thalia muttered...he wanted to kill me.**

“Good idea.” Apollo nodded.

**"You've already...another immortal enemy?"**

“You mean aside from Kronos?” Percy asked dryly. 

“You know what I meant.” Thalia rolled her eyes. 

**She was right...make Dionysus mad, too.**

Poseidon nodded. “If only you would remember that  _ before  _ you speak.” 

“I’ll try.” Percy grinned sheepishly.

**"Sorry," I said...in the white landscape.**

“I do not look like a raven!” Thalia protested.

“You kinda did.” Percy laughed. Everyone else joined in, finding that mental image hilarious. She glared at him but he didn’t even notice he was too busy chuckling.

**"We'll get Annabeth back,"..."We'll find a way."**

“Of course.” Thalia nodded.

**Over at the basketball...arrow any second.**

“What was the argument about?” Rachel asked.

“Some of the campers wanted to shoot hoops too but the Hunters wouldn’t let them because of the no guy rule. They seem to think that because they aren’t allowed to fall in love they also can’t be within a certain distance of males.” Will scoffed. “You’d think that being male was contagious or something.” 

“Nothing unusual.” Chiron sighed. It was never fun when the Hunters came to stay.

**"I'll break that up,"...You do it."**

“Only you guys would argue about being team captain.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"We can, uh… co-captain...but she nodded.**

“That won’t end well.” Jason guessed. 

“Understatement of the century.” Katie told him. 

“I can’t believe I missed this.” Clarisse groaned. She had heard about the fight several times and it sounded like it had been awesome.

“What happened?” Piper asked.

“Well, you’ve already seen how well Percy deals with Thalia being in charge.” Connor said. “And we know Thalia is the same. So, combine the two and you get one big fight.” 

“So a mini Zeus-Poseidon fight then.” Hades rolled his eyes.

“With powers.” Travis put in. 

“That is very bad.” Annabeth winced. She had heard some stories but never in much detail.

“It wasn’t our best moment.” Percy admitted. 

**As she headed...done the same thing."**

“No ‘probably’ about it.” Annabeth laughed.

**She shifted from...died in Los Angeles.**

“What?” Jason breathed, going pale. Thalia cursed. She had forgotten this particular conversation with Percy or she would have warned her brother. He didn’t deserve to find out like this.

“Ok, come on. Let’s go out for a bit and I’ll tell you what I know. You guys keep reading.” Thalia told the room. Then she escorted Jason out. There was a few moments silence before Piper kept reading, though her eyes were constantly flickering to the door.

**She, um… she was...Thalia blinked hard.**

Frank frowned sympathetically. It sucked losing your mom.

**"I'm sorry."...behind the wheel."**

“You hadn’t learnt to leave that topic alone?” Annabeth asked in exasperation.

“Apparently not.” Percy shrugged. “But it was pretty weird how she acted in the sun chariot.”

“And none of your business.” Katie told him.

“I know.” He sighed.

**I was sorry I'd...that must've been it."**

Zeus frowned. That didn’t sound very convincing but he genuinely couldn’t think of anything else that would have scared his daughter. She was in the sky, his own element. And she had seemed quite taken with Apollo, not frightened of him. He tried not to think about that very much, suddenly rather glad she had become a Hunter.

**She trudged off...sword and a basketball.**

“I wonder which of those would make a better weapon.” Clarisse muttered sarcastically.

“You’d be surprised. The Hunters throw pretty damn hard.” Will told her quietly.

**The cabins were...quest for Chiron. Top secret!"**

Clarisse sighed and subtly moved closer to Chris. She hated thinking about that time.

“What mission?” Dakota asked.

“You’ll find out in the next book probably.” Clarisse told him. The next quest Percy had gone on had been in the Labyrinth.

**"Is she okay?"**

“Careful, Jackson. That sounds dangerously close to caring.” Clarisse said in a mocking tone.

“You might be a pain in the ass but you’re still a good fighter. We couldn’t afford to lose any more of those.” Percy shrugged. She stuck her tongue out at him.

**"Haven't heard...get outta here!"**

“Glad he sounds so concerned about his sister being missing in action.” Frank scoffed. 

“To be fair, he had just been woken up.” Nico shrugged.

**I decided to let...next to my pillow.**

Percy and Tyson both smiled at the mention of their cabin.

**I took Annabeth's...would find her.**

“Thanks.” Annabeth smiled at him.

“You’d do the same for me.” He shrugged. Piper smiled slightly, recalling how frantic Annabeth was when Percy was the one missing. She certainly hadn’t handled it any better than Percy.

**I took off my wristwatch...I'd ask him at dinner.**

Hephaestus smiled proudly.

“Will make you a new one.” Tyson promised.

“Thanks, Tyson.” Percy grinned. He couldn’t ask for any better protection.

**I was staring at...gift from Poseidon.**

“Thanks, dad.” Percy said with a grateful smile.

“I can’t believe it took you that long to notice it.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“I did have a lot on my mind.” He defended. 

**I looked into...with my family.**

The other demigods were once again, feeling super jealous of Percy and his relationship with his dad. Although receiving gifts from their parents wasn’t necessarily uncommon, but this was almost like an invitation to talk to his dad. 

The Gods were all looking at Poseidon. Some wishing they had given their kids something to contact them with.

“That is a wonderful gift, brother.” Hestia praised.

**I opened the...or weeks at a time.**

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call her!” Annabeth yelled at him in exasperation. “Besides, your mom is always worried when you go off on a mission.” Percy looked sheepish.

“The whole point of my gift is so you can contact your mother so she doesn’t  _ have  _ to worry.” Poseidon told his son, looking a little amused.

“I did call my mom eventually.” Percy said. “The next day or the day after.” 

**My father?...call or something?**

“Yes you can Iris message the Gods. And no, it would not annoy me.” Poseidon assured his son. “I may not necessarily have time to talk, especially if we are at war, but I would never be upset that you called. In fact, it would be quite nice.” Percy nodded.

“Thanks dad.” 

**I hesitated...of the Cyclopes."**

Tyson beamed, glad his brother thought to call him. “I like it there but I miss Percy.” 

“I miss you too big guy.”

**The mist shimmered...give me a hug.**

“That is the one downside. No touching.” Percy sighed.

“It’s still pretty cool.” Frank said. The Romans all nodded.

**The vision blurred..."That's really cool."**

Beckendorf gestured for Tyson to join him at his workbench and the two of them started talking about the forges of the Cyclopes, as well as weapon ideas for the upcoming war. Leo soon leaned over and joined in. 

**"I wrote my...to Dad much?"**

“You wanted to speak to me?” Poseidon asked.

“Yeah. I wanted to know if Annabeth had fallen into the ocean, plus I wanted to ask about some stuff Dr Thorn had said.” 

“If that was the case with Annabeth, I would have already informed Chiron and given her passage back to camp.” Athena looked at him in surprise. “Oh like you would have let me not do that.” Poseidon rolled his eyes. “You would have been constantly badgering me until I did so.” 

“True.” Athena acknowledged.

**Tyson's smile faded...about the war."**

“What war?” Triton asked anxiously. “I didn’t think anything had properly escalated yet.” 

“Olympus wasn’t at war. Just dad’s kingdom.” Percy explained. The Gods all looked very concerned by this. If one of their best fighters was already busy fighting a war of his own, their fight had just gotten a lot harder.

**"What do you mean?"...Oceanus. Those guys."**

“That’s not good.” Triton murmured.

“Oceanus stayed neutral last time. The fact that he has joined Kronos is not a good sign.” Poseidon sighed heavily.

“The Titans are confident of victory.” Athena said. “Or he would not participate.”

“How many other Titans or minor Gods will not choose to stay neutral?” Ares wondered in concern. 

“They will pay.” Zeus grumbled furiously. Percy opened his mouth but then shut it again. It was not a good idea to pick a fight so soon after reading about his talk with Dionysus.

**I sort of knew...was not good.**

“No. Not good at all.” Hades mused. A part of him wondered if he would even bother to take part. A large part of him knew he should. His father winning would not be good for him either, even if he stayed out of the fight but still...there was a small nagging thought that he had helped before and Zeus had practically banished him to the Underworld. He was only allowed to visit his own home once a year for a single day. His children were unwelcome at Camp. Why should he help?

**"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.**

“It seems you have enough to do above ground.” Triton stated. 

“Besides, I would not want to risk you falling in battle or being captured.” Poseidon told his son. “Not when you have another year and a half until you turn sixteen.”

**Tyson shook his...hard to find.**

Percy thought about that and felt a little freaked out. These Titans could stop his dad finding a ship, in his own realm of power. They must be incredibly powerful and his dad had been fighting them for over a year, in Percy’s time. 

**Protect it from Daddy's...here right now."**

“You should have said. I would have helped you look.” Tyson looked up from his project with Beckendorf to look at Percy.

“You needed to make weapons for dad.” Percy told him.

**"Tell her hello!"...his monstrous army.**

“They will be heading to Mount Othrys.” Athena said unhappily.

**"All right," I said...lonelier than before.**

“Sorry, Percy.” Tyson said, looking very guilty.

“It’s not your fault big guy. You had a job to do.” Percy told him. “A very important job.” Tyson nodded but looked unconvinced. Just then Thalia and Jason came back into the room. They both looked rather grim but determined. They took their previous seats and Piper squeezed Jason’s hand before continuing to read. Annabeth whispered to them what they had missed.

**I was pretty miserable...couldn't sit together.**

“That is pretty sad. I’m glad we don’t do that.” Hazel said.

  
“It does get pretty lonely.” Percy sighed.

“Yes, well, it helps to prevent arguments breaking out during dinner.” Chiron told him. “Given how you and Thalia reacted to each other, especially in the beginning, I doubt you could have made it through an entire dinner together without exploding something.” Percy nodded. That did make some sense but it would be nice to be able to sit with Annabeth sometimes. Or even his friends in the Hermes cabin. Plus some of the guys in the Hermes cabin would appreciate being able to sit somewhere else, just so there was room.

**Camp rules...money to lose.**

“Nope.” Nico said. “Not that they would convince me of that anyway.” 

“Yeah.” Connor sighed sadly. 

“Good.” Hades said firmly.

**The only table that...seem to mind.**

Nico frowned. His sister had barely spoken to him once they got to Camp. He didn’t know whether that was just because she had adopted the whole ‘boys are bad’ thing really quickly, but it had still hurt. He was her brother. 

**When we'd finished...was a whopper.**

“Wonderful.” Poseidon groaned.

“To be honest, I keep thinking that and then they just get worse.” Percy sighed.

“Not making me feel any better here.” Apollo grimaced.

  
“It’s true.” Percy shrugged. “Can’t help it.” 

**Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog.**

Athena perked up at news of her daughter.

**It almost seemed like...crest of the hill.**

“Thorn took you there and then just left you?” Triton asked. Annabeth nodded.

“It was part of the plan.” She said bitterly. Was it so bad that she hoped there was still good in Luke?

**She gasped...And he was in pain.**

Hermes tried not to visibly react to this statement. It was hard. He still hoped that his son was alright.

“Did you not say his ship was going around the land? Why is he at Mount Othrys?” Ares asked.

“His ship was. Luke wasn’t.” Percy shrugged.

**He was crumpled...She ran forward.**

“Don’t!” Athena told her daughter. “He is holding the sky.” 

“If he’s holding the sky, then Atlas is free.” Zeus pointed out in concern. “This is not good.”

“That boy is going to manipulate Annabeth into taking the sky for him.” Athena yelled, worry clear in her voice.

“Why would he bother?” Aphrodite asked. “She wouldn’t be able to hold it for long.”

“To get Percy there? Or even Thalia?” Reyna suggested.

“No.” Apollo said warily. He glanced at his sister. She would not bother to save the boy but a maiden...that would make her take the sky. Artemis caught his gaze and nodded. She had reached the same conclusion. Luke had taken the sky from Atlas with the sole purpose of convincing Annabeth to take it to then convince Artemis to do so. There was no other reason Kronos’ chosen mortal would take the sky. There must have been plenty of other disposable people to use if the only purpose had been freeing Atlas. Neither twin said anything to the rest of the room. 

**I tried to cry out: He's a traitor! Don't trust him!**

“Listen to the boy.” Athena urged her daughter.

  
“I can’t do anything about it now, mother.” Annabeth pointed out.

**But my voice..."Please. It's killing me."**

“They wouldn’t just leave him there, he is too important.” Jason scoffed.

“Plus, the sky can only be taken voluntarily except by Atlas. He chose to take it.” Athena reminded her daughter.

“They could have threatened him.” Hermes defended his son.

“With what? Killing him? Holding the sky would do that.” Ares pointed out.

“There are worse things than death.” Hades stated gravely.

**I couldn't see...help me, I'll die."**

“Better you than her.” Percy muttered angrily.

**Let him die...anything from Annabeth.**

“Percy!” Annabeth protested.

“What? I was right.”

“And if I hadn’t done something, then the place would have been crawling with monsters that I would never have been able to fight on my own.” Annabeth pointed out. “I would have died.”

“If Ar...something hadn’t happened the sky would have killed you anyway.” Percy shot back. Apollo grimaced, not happy to have Percy’s stumble confirm his fears. His sister would take the weight of the sky. He felt helpless which made him angry.

**Then the darkness...began falling.**

“Please help him.” Hermes whispered. He knew his son had done awful things but he could not wish his death.

**Annabeth rushed in...been able to do that.**

“No!” Athena cried. “Now you will have to hold it.” She eyed her daughter, wondering how the Hades she survived holding the sky.

“How did you manage to hold up the weight?” Zeus wondered. Only his son was strong enough to do that.

“She has a strong heart and a strong mind. Physical strength is not the only thing that can be used.” Artemis reminded her father.

**Luke rolled free...to crush Annabeth.**

Thalia let loose a string of curses in Ancient Greek which Percy fully agreed with. Hermes winced at his son’s, sadly inevitable, betrayal. He had hoped that because it was Annabeth, someone he had known for so long, he would have some mercy. Although, had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have fallen for it and allowed the betrayal to happen. This was just another sign of how far gone he was.

Annabeth just felt sad. She knew Luke had had a plan to get Artemis holding the sky. He hadn’t intended for her to die but it still hurt that she could have died and he would have made it happen. Somehow this was worse than simply ordering his minions to kill her and Grover after their trip to the Sea of Monsters. Here he had actually used her feelings for him to trick her.

**"HELP ME!" she pleaded...try not to die."**

“What?” Hermes frowned. “There is no way the demigods would get there before she died.” 

“Not demigods.” Artemis spoke up with a heavy sigh. “I am tracking the monster and I planned to start at Mount Othrys.”

“But he only caught Annabeth by accident.” Aphrodite frowned. “They couldn’t have known.”

“Well Thorn was already trying to capture the children of Hades. I assume the original plan was to threaten Nico so Bianca would take the sky.” Will said, thinking out loud.

“But why Artemis?” Reyna asked curiously.

“Artemis said she was searching for proof. If they delay her long enough, father would probably declare the matter closed again. The Titans would be able to wreak havoc pretty much unopposed.” Athena stated with a glare at her father.

“So, all of this could be avoided if father brought his head out of the sand for more than one second.” Apollo said grumpily. He was greatly unhappy that his twin was in such great danger because their father refused to see what was right in front of him. Zeus scowled.

**The ceiling of...Annabeth against the ground.**

Athena bit her lip in concern. She knew her daughter lived, but there were other side effects of mortals holding up the sky.

**I sat bolt upright...Luke was responsible.**

“Of course he was.” Clarisse growled.

“Chapter is done.” Piper announced.

“My turn.” Annabeth said. She took the book from Piper and began reading.


	6. An Old Dead Friend Comes To Visit

“What?” Everyone, except those who had been there looked very confused.

“Oh this was just creepy.” Percy grimaced.

“Dead people usually are.” Will muttered. 

“It was gross too.” Grover grumbled, recalling how he and Percy had to take their friend back to the attic.

**The next morning...dumped on him.**

A few people snickered at this.

**When I told Grover...does that mean?"**

“Nothing good?” Travis offered.

“My dreams never mean anything good.” Percy sighed.

**Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed—"**

“Why do you know what Zoe dreamed?” Artemis asked the Satyr sharply. He gulped nervously while the Greek demigods looked at him with a great deal of amusement.

“I...uh...we…”

“He was being a stalker.” Percy put in. 

“I was not!” Grover protested weakly.

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow and Grover sank down in his seat muttering under his breath.

**"Whoa. What do...outside the Artemis cabin."**

“Why would you do that?” Silena scoffed. Grover sighed and buried his face in his hands.

“They were just so…” His voice became so muffled by his hands no one would make out the end of his sentence.

“Chiron. I expect this will not be allowed to happen should my Hunters stay at Camp again.” Artemis stated with a frown at the Satyr.

“Of course not, Lady Artemis.” The Centaur bowed his head.

**"What for?"...stalker with hooves."**

“You really are.” Piper said.

**"I am not! Anyway...and Zoe Nightshade.**

“I’d bet on Argus.” Silena scowled.

“Me too.” Beckendorf said, smiling over at Silena. A few other campers agreed and even Hera nodded in approval. Of course Argus would win. 

Artemis looked disdainful. There was no way some guard with a few extra eyes would be able to defeat her Lieutenant.

**"What did she say?"...that's a bad thing.**

“It is.” Annabeth told him while a few of the campers looked angry at Zoe’s treatment of Argus.

**And then he...Artemis be in trouble?"**

“I knew you going alone was a bad idea.” Apollo told his sister with an anxious frown.

“I will be perfectly fine, brother.” Artemis replied with an eye roll.

**"I… well, finally...curlers in his tail?"**

“What?” Travis asked, a wicked grin spreading over his face.

“Curlers?” Connor reiterated, staring at Chiron who had gone rather red in the face.

“Sorry.” Grover said to Chiron, feeling guilty as the other Greek campers made their disbelief and amusement known. However they all respected Chiron enough that the teasing and humour didn’t last very long although the Centaur noted the Stoll brothers whispering together which was never a good sign. He sighed. 

**Grover covered...if Artemis is lost?'"**

“They have a point.” Thalia said.

“There is a reason I told my Hunters to stay in Camp.” Artemis said firmly. She had already figured that Zoe would be going on this quest which would bring her face to face with her family. She suspected it was also the quest that would kill her. This would be part of the reason why she hadn’t taken her Hunters. She would never want Zoe to have to go back to Mount Othrys unless there was no other choice.

**"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"**

“Really? You think Artemis, a Goddess, would need directions?” Thalia rolled her eyes at Percy.

“Hey that’s usually what being lost means.” He shrugged.

**"No. I think...that even possible?"**

“Yes.” Demeter snapped, glaring at Hades. Both Hades and Persephone rolled their eyes having heard this every time they came to Olympus.

“Mother.” Persephone sighed. “Do not start this argument again.” 

**"Well, yeah. I mean...goddess of flowers."**

“Excuse me?” Persephone looked at Percy with an affronted expression.

“Sorry.” Percy winced.

**Grover looked offended...And why?"**

Poseidon had to bite back a groan. 

“Do not dismiss me like that, child.” Persephone glared at him furiously. Percy winced. He actually kind of liked Persephone but he had never really thought of springtime being powerful. Still, he had absolutely no desire to be turned into a dandelion, or any other kind of flower, so put on an apologetic face.

“Sorry, Lady Persephone.” She studied him and saw that he meant it. She nodded and sank back against her husband.

**Grover shook his head ...pile of evil bark mulch.**

A lot of people burst out laughing.

“I love your descriptions of stuff.” Chris said through his laughter.

**"I don't know,"...Kronos had re-formed.**

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Percy muttered quietly, glancing over at Zeus.

**The gods would..."They're connected," I said.**

“Yes. Now you can get a questo to save Annabeth and my sister.” Apollo nodded.

“You think Zoe would allow a boy on a quest with her?” Artemis raised an eyebrow.

“Well, the book is from Percy’s perspective so I’m guessing it won’t be about how he just sat at camp and trained for a while.” Apollo pointed out with a shrug. Artemis contemplated this. She agreed with her brother but she knew there was no way Zoe would not come to find her, despite her orders. And if Zoe came, then she would not allow a male to join them so she wondered how Percy went on the quest. Maybe he snuck out again? But this time Annabeth and the Cyclops aren’t there to help him. He wouldn’t last five minutes without them, she suspected. 

**Over in the frozen...trunk at top speed,**

A round of snickering broke out at this while the female Goddesses, except Aphrodite, rolled their eyes.

**"Ah, love,"...talk to Zoe," I said.**

“That probably won’t go well.” Nico told Percy with a grimace.

“I didn’t know who else to talk to.” Percy shrugged.

“Me!” Thalia rolled her eyes.

“You would’ve been as likely to kill him as Zoe.” Annabeth told her friend dryly. “But you could have talked to Chiron.” She added, looking at Percy.

“Not if he told me it was about you.” Thalia replied.

**"Um, before you...been scouting us."**

“Or they were tracking the powerful monster.” Reyna pointed out.

**"Scouting us?...thinking about joining."**

“Are you still considering it?” Thalia asked interestedly. She knew her friend had a giant crush on Percy but through the reading he had shown much less interest. When she had first seen them, she was convinced they would get together eventually and she was almost jealous of Annabeth but then she realised that Annabeth also had a crush on Luke. That did complicate things but she figured the two of them would work it out eventually. Selfishly, a part of her hoped it didn’t. It would be amazing to have her best friend immortal and by her side forever.

“Not as much.” Annabeth shrugged. “But it’s still an option.” Aphrodite looked put out by this response and that worried Annabeth. That probably meant she had some horrible plans for her love life beyond making her torn between two guys, one of which was sweet but completely oblivious and the other had joined Kronos. 

**I'd like to say...maiden at a time.**

“Excuse me?” Artemis glared at him.

“Sorry my Lady but the Hunter’s had already recruited Bianca, I didn’t want them taking one of my best friends too.”

“You make it sound as if we kidnap them.” The Goddess sounded even more annoyed.

“No, I understand that to join is their choice but you have no concern for the people they leave behind.” Percy shrugged. Artemis made no reply to this. It was true after all. 

**The rest of the...still sent me packing.**

“Who was that?” Clarisse asked with a laugh.

“Adam.” Percy said with a sheepish grin.

“It was hilarious.” Connor put in with a smirk.

**I visited the pegasus...not get involved.**

“Wise choice.” Beckendorf told him with a chuckle.

**After that, I sat...everything he knew.**

“That may be true but you should still have come to me.” Chiron sighed. Percy nodded.

“Although, you wouldn’t have let me go.” 

“Because little details like that matter so much to you.” Chiron said dryly. Percy smirked. 

**I looked the other...into the attic.**

“Unless it is your quest, she won’t tell you anything.” Apollo told him.

“I figured that.” Percy sighed. The stupid Oracle couldn’t give him a single sentence but could walk all the way to the lake to talk to Zoe.

**The room was dark...hippie dress. The Oracle.**

That description still made Apollo cringe. He wanted to know what had caused this in his Oracle.

**I made myself..."Uh, what's up?"**

Then the sun God broke out of his thoughts to burst out laughing. 

“You did not just say that?” Annabeth asked in exasperation..

“It’s not like I talk to mummies often.” Percy shrugged.

**I winced at how...coiled sleeping snake.**

“It’s impressive you can feel that even when she’s not giving a prophecy.” Apollo said with a smile.

**"I have a question,"...stonewalled by a corpse.**

More sniggering. Then a few of the Gods became thoughtful. They thought back to the chapter title and wondered if that meant the Oracle would actually move.

**"All right," I said...Leroy got killed. 1999.**

“Interesting label.” Leo grimaced.

**Then I noticed a...PERCY JACKSON**

“You kept the scarf?” Will asked with a laugh.

“I guess so.” Annabeth shrugged, though her face was a little red.

**I stared at the...in the attic?**

“It was in the attic because we didn’t need other campers *cough* the Stolls *cough* getting hold of it.” Annabeth stated. The Stolls smirked.

“We know where it is now.” Travis pointed out.

“No love magic for you either.” Katie glared at him. 

“But…” He pouted.

“No!” She stated firmly. 

“Whipped.” Connor whispered to his brother.

“Shut up!”

**I turned to the...was smiling gruesomely.**

“That’s both gross and creepy.” Gwen muttered.

“Definitely.” Frank nodded. 

**I dropped the...number of campers.**

The campers all grimaced.

**Zoe Nightshade looked...about her nightmare.**

“Of course she would have told them.” Thalia said. 

“Thank you for keeping them at camp.” Artemis said to Chiron. The Centaur sighed. It hadn’t lasted long.

**On our team...were raring to go.**

“Definitely.” Silena growled. “It’s a shame Drew wasn’t there.”

“I wish I had been.” Drew scowled.

“What use would they be?” Artemis asked dismissively. “Children of Aphrodite are not made for fighting.” Piper and Silena both glared furiously at this comment. Seeing his girlfriend about to blow up, Beckendorf stepped in.

“You clearly haven’t seen Silena when she’s angry then.” 

“Or Piper.” Jason added with a smile at said girl. He hadn’t known her long but their three day quest had been enough to prove he did  _ not _ want to be on the wrong side of her. Drew rolled her eyes. She still couldn’t believe the girl with awful hair and no dress sense was her half sister. Artemis sneered but said nothing further.

**"I'll show them..."I'll pulverize them!"**

Artemis could not old back a disdainful scoff at this comment. “You would not be able to pulverise any one of my Hunters. Stick to ruining people’s lives, girl.” Silena was about to give an angry retort when she stopped. She  _ was  _ ruining people’s lives. She was spying for Luke. Keeping him up to date with their missions and plans. Silena managed to meet Beckendorf’s concerned gaze and give him a smile, though she didn’t think it was very convincing.

**That left Thalia...be better defense?"**

“Percy is actually right.” Annabeth spoke up. Thalia gave her friend a betrayed look. “Not just because of your shield, that would help in offence or defence. But it would give the best defence for the flag as the opponents would want to avoid you. Whereas Percy is a brilliant fighter but Hunter’s use arrows more than melee weapons so he would be better on the offence.

**Thalia already had...practice at defense."**

“That wasn’t nice.” Annabeth told her friend.

“Yeah. Sorry Percy.” Thalia said, giving him an apologetic grin.

“If I’d known being co-captain was the same as just you being captain then I would have just accepted your offer of letting me be in charge.” Percy rolled his eyes. 

**I wasn't sure if...killed by a hellhound.**

“Of course I was teasing you.” Thalia said. 

“The hellhound wasn’t Annabeth’s fault.” Hazel pointed out. 

“I know.” Percy said.

**"Yeah, no problem," I lied.**

“You should have said.” Thalia frowned.

“Yeah because you would totally have listened to me.” Percy shot back sarcastically. “All that would have achieved was having our fight earlier. I was trying not to have an argument despite your attempts to keep pulling me into one.”

**"Cool." Thalia turned...breaking their nails.**

“You should just stay out of the game. Go and gossip or something you are actually good at.” Artemis rolled her eyes. Sadly, Piper was having to make an effort not to do the same thing. It was one thing not to be good at fighting but they were demigods. They needed to fight sometimes and if you couldn’t even put armour on without worrying about your nails...you would be toast.

**Nico di Angelo ran up to me with a big grin on his face.**

A few people smiled, eager for something to diffuse the tension that was slowly building.

“Oh goodie. I’m back.” Nico groaned.

**"Percy, this is awesome!"...I'd first arrived.**

“You did.” Clarisse assured him.

“I think every new kid looks ridiculous in their first game.” Will said with a laugh. Most of the campers nodded.

**Unfortunately, I probably...the other team?"**

“It’s just a game, Nico. No need for killing.” Will told him in a mock serious voice.

“Shut up.” 

“You really did have a fascination with killing things at the age of ten.” Chris pointed out.

“He is a son of Hades.” Connor laughed. “Percy compares everything to water and Nico wants to kill stuff.” 

**"Well… no."...keep fighting, and—"**

Nico shook his head at his younger self’s naivety. 

“I take it you understand why resurrection is not ‘cool’?” Hades asked his son.

“Yep.” Nico nodded.

**"Nico, this is serious...Not a good sign.**

Everybody burst out laughing at this.

**I patted Nico...have a blast."**

“You do sound like an older brother.” Travis smiled slightly. 

**Chiron's hoof thundered...More like an idiot.**

“Nothing unusual there.” Clarisse snickered.

“You’re not really acting like a co captain.” Annabeth frowned at her friend.

“No. I wasn’t.” Thalia sighed. She did not like being reminded of how much she and Percy had argued to begin with. Not the fun kind of arguing either. 

**We set our flag at...of a sense of humor.**

“Excuse me!” Zeus thundered angrily. Annabeth continued reading hurriedly.

**Anyway, it was...out of the way.**

“Gee. Thanks for that.” Nico muttered.

“You could barely lift your sword, let alone fight with it.” Beckendorf chuckled.

“Shut up.”

“He’s not wrong.” Will told the son of Hades with a smirk.

“I said shut up!”

**"We'll send out a...it would work.**

Thalia smirked.

**Thalia looked at me...golden opportunity," I added.**

“Not even then.” Thalia scowled.

“I stand by what I did. You would never have gotten there in time.” Percy glared back.

**Thalia scowled...people's eyebrows.**

“There was no need for that.” Annabeth frowned. “Thank goodness you’ll both be on opposing teams when we next play. You’re never allowed to be co-captains again.”

“There is a reason powers are not allowed.” Chiron stated with an unimpressed expression.

**"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry.**

Percy scowled at the floor while Poseidon frowned at the daughter of Zeus. She had been a good friend to Percy while they had been reading and he wondered how they had got to such a stage when they behaved like this not that long ago.

**"Now, is everybody...But nothing happened.**

“They wouldn’t be that obvious.” Artemis rolled her eyes. 

**I caught a glimpse...If I moved fast…**

“That should work.” Annabeth nodded. Percy smirked. “But only if you had both planned on doing that. It would have been a good plan from the beginning. Changing the plan in the middle just causes confusion.” Now Thalia smirked at Percy.

“Well, it could have been a plan if Thalia would have listened to anything I said.” Percy pointed out. 

“That is a good point.” Annabeth conceded. Thalia scowled.

**I looked at Beckendorf...I had it made.**

“Way to jinx it, Prissy.” Clarisse rolled her eyes.

“I had made it to their flag.” Percy shrugged.

**The guard turned...sprawling in the snow.**

Nico opened his mouth to yell at Percy for shoving his sister but then shut it again. Artemis was glaring at him.

**"Sorry!" I yelled...and took off.**

“Why would you apologise?” Reyna asked in confusion.

“Because it was Bianca. I know what it’s like playing this game with no training.” Percy told her. “Any other Hunter and I wouldn’t have bothered.”

**I was ten yards...yell for help.**

“That’s far too slow.” Dakota criticised.

**I thought I was...sprawling in the snow.**

The Greek campers all sighed. Although they had been angry with Percy after the game it hadn’t been all his fault. They couldn’t deny that most of them would have taken the opportunity themselves.

**"Percy!" Thalia yelled...are unsportsmanlike!"**

“Have you changed your mind on that since joining the Hunters?” Chris asked.

“No.” Thalia said firmly.

**I got up and started...flag in her hands.**

Artemis nodded smugly.

**"No!" I yelled, and poured...helmet like antennae.**

“What happened to you two?” Chris asked. Hermes glared at Artemis.

“Phoebe.” Connor scowled.

“Is that why you..?” Thalia asked.

“Yes.” They said in unison.

**"The Hunters win!"...fifty-sixth time in a row."**

“Of course.” Artemis said smugly. “My Hunters are the best.”

**"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward me.**

“Oh dear.” Thalia grimaced.

“I still can’t believe I missed this.” Clarisse groaned.

“It was not pretty.” Katie told her grimly. It had scared a lot of the campers to see that much power wielded so easily.

**She smelled like rotten...I didn't need this.**

Thalia looked slightly guilty at this. Annabeth being missing had certainly not helped the situation. Not only did she calm both of them down, their nerves were already frayed with worrying about her. She should have known Percy felt as bad about Annabeth being missing but she had blamed him for that for charging after Thorn. Logically she had known it wasn’t Percy’s fault but he had been the easiest target because of their natural rivalry. 

**"I got the flag...we would've won."**

“No you wouldn’t. You had too many Hunters chasing you.” Katie pointed out.

“Plus Percy got to it first and he’s one of the fastest campers.” Silena said. “It was a good plan, the Hunters were just faster.” She added through gritted teeth.

**"You had too..."I didn't say that."**

“He didn’t.” Grover agreed. “He simply explained why his idea was a good one for a change.” 

“What do you mean for a change?” Percy pouted.

“You know exactly what I mean.” Grover rolled his eyes. “But clearly you’ve picked up some of Annabeth’s battle strategy.” 

**"Argh!" Thalia pushed...into the water.**

“That was a bad idea.” Leo whistled. “Given what happened last time someone pushed him into the water.” Everyone looked at Clarisse who grimaced.

“And it was undeserved. He didn’t do anything wrong.” Jason added. He wondered why his sister was taking everything out on Percy. She seemed to be starting all the fights with him. He wondered if he and Percy would be like that if they sailed on the Argo together. Would it cause problems for the seven?

“Percy hurt?” Tyson asked anxiously.

“I was alright, big guy.” Percy assured him.

**Some of the campers...didn't mean to—"**

“This is going to be fun.” Clarisse smirked.

“Not the word I would use.” Piper muttered.

**Anger roared in...didn't mean to, either."**

A few people snickered.

“You both sound like your fathers.” Demeter rolled her eyes.

“It’s how most of their fights start.” Hera agreed in exasperation. “One will say something to deliberately annoy the other and then suddenly they are both fighting like mad.”

“And it is usually Zeus who starts the fight because he’s being paranoid or just downright irritating.” Demeter put in. Thalia and Percy looked at each other. That was pretty much how their fights went. 

**Thalia was breathing...gotten used to it**

Annabeth frowned at that phrasing. It sounded as if he hated the nickname. It may have been a mean nickname to begin with but now it was a term of affection. Did he know that? Or did he think she was still constantly being mean to him?

**but hearing it from Thalia was not cool.**

“Which was probably the point.” Annabeth said dryly.

  
“Pretty much.” Thalia admitted sheepishly.

**"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"...was my clothes.**

“And your armour.” Connor put in.

Zeus stared smugly at Poseidon but Hera elbowed him in the ribs and glared at him.

“You two had better not start fighting.” Hestia warned her brothers.

**"Thalia!" Chiron said...icy funnel cloud.**

“You controlled ice as well?” Triton asked, unable to help himself.

“It was mostly slush rather than solid ice.” Percy shrugged. “It still was made of water so I could control it.”

“You have very good control over your powers.” Triton nodded approvingly. Percy grinned.

**"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.**

Chiron sighed. He had never been so grateful to see the Oracle.

**I was about to hurl...I was looking at.**

“Well, it had to be something shocking.” Thalia shrugged. “And it was.”

“Creepy too.” Katie shuddered.

**Someone… something was...Hunters gasped.**

Apollo raised an eyebrow. So his Oracle had moved. He’d certainly never heard of that happening before but it was clearly different, and more desperate, times. 

**"This is impossible,"...sickly shade of green.**

Apollo, who had been grinning happily, suddenly frowned. “If my Oracle is moving then something big has, or is about to, happen.”

“I’m guessing it’s got something to do with Artemis.” Athena nodded. “If something has captured a Goddess then that is a rather huge event.”

**None of us dared...the mighty Python.**

“Still no need to put that in there.” Artemis rolled her eyes.

**The Oracle regarded...mist poured out.**

“Looks like Zoe is leading a quest.” Apollo looked at his sister. Artemis was frowning in concern. If Zoe was fated to lead this quest then there was nothing she could do to stop her Lieutenant from going to Mount Othrys. Even Gods could not change prophecies.

**I saw the vague image...she was in pain.**

Apollo sighed. He felt useless. His sister had been captured and there was nothing he could do about it.

**The Oracle spoke...land without rain,**

Nico winced. He knew who that would be and he was definitely not ready to hear it. He also knew that, as her death had been in the prophecy, there was absolutely nothing that Percy, or anyone else, could have done to prevent it. 

**The bane of Olympus...by a parent's hand.**

“What?” Piper asked. “Who’s parent would kill them?” Artemis closed her eyes. She had a horrible feeling who that line was about and it grieved her to know there was no way around it. 

Nobody answered Piper who looked even more concerned by this. The Gods were all exchanging looks, wondering if they would be the one to kill their child. It was also the first time they would have to read about a death directly and none of them wished to hear about their child dying, especially by their own hand. 

**Then, as we were...a hundred years.**

“Chapter’s done.” Annabeth announced.

“I’ll read.” Clarisse said. Annabeth handed her the book.


	7. Everybody Hates me but the Horse

“Why did everyone hate you?” Frank asked.

“Because, like Thalia, they all seemed to blame me for losing the game.” Percy scowled. Plus, he guessed this would be about how he wasn’t selected to go on the quest but they would find that out in a minute.

“Failure is down to the whole team.” Reyna stated firmly.

“We were angry that we lost and we figured it was safer to pick you than shock happy Thalia.” Silena admitted. Percy scowled. Great. While he didn’t want the other campers to be scared of him, he also didn’t like that they were more scared of Thalia.

“Also, a lot of us had to get checked out in the infirmary. Not to mention we could hardly pick Thalia and Percy to do it. They’d just blow up the Big House.” Travis added.

**The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself.**

“Nope. She had delivered the important message.” Apollo shrugged. “Moving back is not an important task.” 

**Instead, Grover...frame and dust flew.**

“Be careful with her.” Apollo frowned.

“She’s a mummy. I don’t think she felt it.” Percy told him with a laugh.

“You never know. She might have some level of consciousness.” Rachel said. “She was human once.” 

**"Ah, man." I set...Grover admitted.**

“Possibly her nose.” Thalia sniggered.

**We hauled her...weigh so much?**

“Again, she was a human so she would weigh the same. Plus she’s dead weight.” Annabeth pointed out.

**I assumed she..."that was gross."**

“Let’s never do that again.” Percy agreed.

“Ever.” Grover nodded.

**I knew he was...way to exclude me.**

“She wasn’t excluding you. The Oracle doesn’t work like that. This just wasn’t your quest. It was Zoe’s.” Apollo tried to reassure him.

“I know. It just felt that way then.” Percy smiled, grateful for the attempt.

**She'd ignored my...about Annabeth.**

“That was annoying. We were all worried. But, you thought your dreams were linked with Zoe’s meaning finding Artemis would likely lead to finding Annabeth.” Katie pointed out.

“But no guarantee.” Percy sighed.

**"What will Chiron do?"...That too. Of course."**

“Thanks, Grover.” Annabeth sarcastically. 

“I did want to find you. I just...” Grover trailed off looking sheepish.

“You just were busy thinking about Artemis.” Thalia rolled her eyes. “So busy you forgot about one of your oldest friends.” Grover went red.

“That’s not what I was thinking about.” He said.

**"Why?" I asked...of them are evil."**

“Oh.” Hermes perked up, looking very excited. “You mean my son.”

“Yes. I hoped Lord Pan was stirring too.” Grover smiled faintly. A small part of him couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t found Pan. He didn’t want to know for sure that Pan had faded.

**"You mean Pan."...Grover's life ambition.**

“Well I forgot about Annabeth.” Grover shrugged. Percy laughed.

**The nature god had...been driving him nuts.**

“I didn’t mind too much. Finding half bloods was important.” Grover shrugged. Of course he had wanted to be searching for Pan but not at the expense of leaving half bloods vulnerable to being seduced by Kronos.

**"I've let the trail...butt downstairs."**

“To be honest, it was probably safer if you two didn’t talk for a while.” Silena chuckled.

“Definitely.” Katie agreed.

**"Why?" I asked...that includes Percy."**

“You are being ridiculous.” Annabeth told her friend.

“I know.” Thalia sighed. Her actions had seemed perfectly reasonable at the time but looking back, and seeing things from Percy’s point of view, she had been quite the opposite. Honestly, had she been in Percy’s position, she would have done pretty much the same thing he had done.

**The council was...bottles of red wine.**

“Dionysus.” Zeus glared at his son angrily. He may have lifted the restrictions now but he hadn’t in the future. “Not only are you not allowed wine, the children are not old enough to be drinking.” His daughter was there after all.

“Habits.” The wine God shrugged, clearly not caring one bit.

**Then Chiron reminded...drank that either.**

“Why not?” Dakota asked with a frown.

“We were all still a bit freaked out.” Katie shrugged.

**Mr. D and Chiron...courtesy of the Hunters.**

Ares and Clarisse both snarled at this. 

“Was anyone badly hurt?” Reyna asked, eyebrows raised.

“Nothing worse than some broken bones.” Will told her. He was also scowling at Artemis.

“So the Hunters didn’t follow the no maiming rule then?” Frank guessed.

“Of course not.” Silena snarled. “They are far too high and mighty. They think rules are beneath them and are never punished for it. I think they just know that if they played fair they would get their stupid immortal butts kicked.”

“Ridiculous.” Artemis rolled her eyes.

“I guess we’ll never find out because the Hunters are all scared.” Silena retorted.

“Watch it.” Thalia now stepped in, glaring at Silena.

“Or what? We don’t need to break the rules to win.” 

“When we get back to our time, bring the Hunters to camp and we will see.” 

“I will.” Thalia and Silena were scowling angrily at each other. 

“Now that the matter is settled, Clarisse please continue reading.” Chiron interrupted before the argument could continue.

**They were resting...them with topping.**

“Really, Grover?” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“I was hungry.” Grover said sheepishly.

**"There is no..."West!" Bianca said.**

“She does realise that ‘west’ means pretty much the entire United States from when you guys are?” Hazel asked with a frown.

“Apparently not.” Connor shook his head.

**I was amazed at...showers in liquid moonlight.**

“That’s a weird yet kinda cool description. Do I look like that?” Thalia wondered.

“Yes.” Jason nodded, looking at his sister. “It’s less noticeable when you’re in bright light but in the dark you do kinda glow.”

“Weird.” Thalia said again, looking down at her skin.

**"You heard the...to do this together."**

“Zoe won’t like that.” Artemis said knowingly. “But you are correct.” She added with a sigh.

“I can’t believe Thalia actually wanted to go with her.” Travis muttered to Connor.

“Me either. You couldn’t have paid me to spend more time with those stuck up girls. They were worse than the Aphrodite girls.”

**"No!" Zoe said...yerrr help."**

The demigods, except Percy, Thalia and Annabeth, all burst out into snickers and chuckles. Those who had actually been there laughed even harder as they had been unable to at the time. She had sounded hilarious trying to pronounce it.

**Thalia rolled her eyes...you try to cooperate?"**

“For once, he actually has a point.” Hermes mused. 

“The prophecy actually said Hunters and Campers combined prevail.” Apollo reminded him. Hermes nodded.

**"Mr. D," Chiron sighed...Just trying to be helpful."**

“Why do I doubt that?” Ares muttered.

“Actually he was in a way.” Percy spoke up. “The prophecy said that two people would die or be lost on the quest. He was trying to protect the campers.” A few Gods raised their eyebrows and looked at Dionysus. He was glaring at the floor.

**"We're supposed to...of war preparations."**

Now everyone turned to glare at Zeus who was avoiding all gazes.

“No surprise there.” Demeter rolled her eyes.

“Well, if some of the other Gods were as vocal as Artemis then maybe Father would have been forced into action earlier.” Thalia spoke up.

“Father had forbade any talk on the matter. Some of us are less willing to risk punishment.” Apollo sighed. “Arty can get away with pretty much anything though. She's dad's favourite.” Zeus spluttered at this but didn’t actually deny it. Hera was scowling at him for not saying that one of her children was actually his favourite. How could his favourite child be born from unfaithfulness?

**"Are you suggesting...Lord Dionysus."**

“You tell him Thalia.” Rachel laughed.

  
“At least she was respectful about it.” Jason said, with a smirk in Percy’s direction. Percy just shrugged and laughed.

**Mr. D nodded...That's more than fair."**

“Good idea.” Annabeth smiled at him. 

“It is fair.” Artemis nodded. Still, it worried her. She already heavily suspected Zoe would die on this quest. Having more Hunters increased the risk of losing another one of her girls. 

**Thalia and Zoe...strength of numbers."**

“And they already told you why that’s a bad idea.” Nico rolled his eyes in exasperation. He hated Zoe. And all the Hunters really but he had not forgiven her for taking Bianca on the quest.

**"You'll be retracing...this beast might be."**

The Olympians all exchanged more looks. None of them had any idea either and it worried them. Had they grown so lax that they could no longer remember a monster so terrible it was the bane of Olympus?

**Everybody looked at...to know things.**

“‘Supposed to’?” Poseidon looked at his son in amusement.

“Yep.” Percy nodded. “But even they don’t know everything.” Poseidon considered this before nodding. As much as they hated to admit it, it was true.

**He was flipping through...none of them good.**

“I don’t think any monster labelled the ‘bane of Olympus’ is likely to be good.” Gwen pointed out. 

“True.” The Centaur inclined his head. “But there are different ways in which the monster could be considered as such. It is not always the most powerful monsters that are the most dangerous.” A few people nodded at this, though some of the others looked a bit confused.

**And none of them...are going to die."**

“I had no intention of going.” Connor admitted freely. Hermes sighed in relief. It was bad enough that Luke was on Kronos’ side and in constant danger. He did not need to hear about his other children in danger. “Couldn’t stand spending more time with the Hunters.”

“They would not let a male accompany them anyway.” Artemis stated firmly. She knew Zoe would never allow it.

**"One shall be...stay out of the desert."**

Nico grimaced and had to hide his wince. Will squeezed his shoulders to comfort him. 

**There was a muttering...parent would kill them?"**

“The Hunters have a wide variety of parents, not all of them are children of the Gods.” Silena pointed out with a little less malice than usual. Artemis’ frown deepened.

**There was heavy...Thalia and me.**

Zeus and Poseidon both began immediately protesting this. 

“Don’t worry dad. I know you wouldn’t kill me.” Percy grinned. Thalia wished she could have Percy’s confidence but she recalled the moment on the quest where she had thought her dad really was trying to kill her. Poseidon nodded at this, pleased.

Zeus looked less happy when his daughter did not state the same thing. In fact she looked quite uneasy and that bothered him. In fact, a tiny part of him would admit, only to himself, he was actually hurt. His daughter thought he might actually kill her?

“Thalia…” He began. Then he trailed off. What if it was him? Was he the reason his daughter joined the Hunters? “I would never…”

“I know.” She said shortly, clearly unwilling to have this conversation. Still, it was enough to make him let out a sigh of relief. 

**I wondered if...for Father's Day after all.**

“You should.” Poseidon nodded. “But I wouldn’t kill you for not doing so.”

“I know that.” Percy laughed.

“You never wear ties.” Triton rolled his eyes at his father.

“Well I might if Percy sent me on.” Poseidon shrugged. He felt warmed by the idea. Immortals didn’t really celebrate the mortal customs like father’s day so he had never received a present on such a day.

“I’ll remember that in the future.” Percy promised.

**"There will be deaths,"...Don't mind me."**

“Why is he at the meeting?” Gwen muttered.

“Because he is their camp director.” Reyna replied.

**"Percy is right,"...with the Hunters.**

“Good.” Aphrodite nodded at her daughter.

“It’s not like you would be much use. What are you going to do, love Atlas into submission?” Artemis scoffed.

“How dare you!” Aphrodite scowled murderously. As did Piper and Silena. Drew remained unconcerned. “My children are incredibly powerful. Do not talk about things you do not understand.” Artemis rolled her eyes and let out a snort of derision but made no further reply.

**Don't look at me!"...people tended to listen.**

Beckendorf smiled at that description.

“That is true.” Will nodded.

**"Let's start with...Travis Stoll asked cautiously.**

Travis and Connor smirked at each other. 

**Zoe nodded...want to give it to her?"**

Chiron was looking at the Stolls with a mildly reproving expression. He didn’t exactly approve but the Hunters had been asked for some revenge after how they had behaved in the game.

“What did you do to that t-shirt?” Artemis asked suspiciously. 

“Nothing.” They both said with identical innocent expressions that nobody bought for a second. Hermes smirked and eyed his kids with excitement.

**I knew the Stolls...wish Bianca to go."**

“What?” Hades spoke up looking very worried. “She had no training at all. She is not ready for a quest.” 

“Percy only had a week’s worth of training before his quest.” Poseidon said, giving his brother a sympathetic look. He knew how hard it was to hear about their children being sent out into a dangerous world with nowhere near the appropriate amount of training. 

“But you know your son is safe. He is here.” Hades shot back, anxiety taking over. It would explain a lot about why his son had been so cagey when he had asked about Bianca’s absence. Poseidon sighed. That was true. For now, anyway. Soon enough he wouldn’t have that reassurance either. Nico was subtly trying to move closer to Will. He wasn’t really thinking what he was actually doing, his mind was too focused on recalling the moment when he realised Bianca was gone forever.

“Zoe will look after her.” Artemis said soothingly. “She would not take Bianca if she was not ready.”

“If anything happens to her it will be Zoe’s fault. And so, your fault.” Hades glared at Artemis, fury and concern in his eyes. It was enough to make even the Goddess shudder slightly. Persephone put a hand on her husband’s arm and whispered soothing words to him until he relaxed ever so slightly.

**Bianca looked...be any good."**

“Even she knows it.” Hades muttered anxiously.

**"You will do fine,"...to prove thyself."**

“Yes there is.” Persephone said before her husband could. She tightened her hand on his arm to stop him from ranting at Artemis any more. “Tracking a monster powerful enough to kidnap a Goddess is not a quest for people with no training. Hunters or not.” At that, even Artemis nodded. She had to admit she was surprised at Zoe being so reckless. 

**Bianca closed her..."Anything to help Artemis!"**

A few people rolled their eyes good naturedly. 

**Zoe wrinkled her nose...was a good thing.**

“It is.” Thalia said, smiling at Grover.

**"Very well," Zoe said...want to go too."**

“No. Zoe will never accept.” Artemis sighed. “Not only are you male but you carry Anaklusmos.” 

“Yeah.” Percy nodded. “Although I don’t think Zoe knew about that at the time.”

**Thalia said nothing...technically a boy."**

The campers all burst out laughing once more.

“Don’t worry Grover. I’m sure Juniper thinks you are a boy.” Percy tried to console his friend but he was laughing too much for it to sound anything other than mocking.

“Oh shut up.” Grover told him.

**"Hey!" Grover protested...staring at the table.**

“Sorry, Perc.” Beckendorf said. “I just figured that after the creek you and Thalia probably shouldn’t go together and the Hunters were far more likely to accept Thalia going.” Percy nodded. Beckendorf did have a fair point.

“Yeah. Sorry, Percy.” Connor gave him a sheepish grin.

“It’s alright. I went anyway.” Percy smirked. “And you helped.” 

“I did?” Connor looked confused for a second and then recalled why Phoebe hadn’t gone. He smirked happily.

“Always happy to be on service.” Travis told Percy with a wicked grin.

**Bianca gave me a...their companions."**

“Chiron also has a fair point.” Annabeth told Percy.

“I know.” Percy sighed.

**My ears were ringing...came looking for me.**

“We would have come to talk to you anyway.” Grover told his friend.

“Besides, it was probably better to have that conversation in your cabin.” Chiron added. Percy nodded. That was true. He knew that Thalia would have been insufferable had she heard the conversation.

**"Percy, I'm so sorry!"...whenever he gets upset.**

“I thought his bladder acted up.” Will put in with a smirk.

“Hey!” Grover protested. “No need to bring that up.”

“It does. He eats furniture and then needs the loo.” Percy told Will with a chuckle.

“Shut up!” Grover bleated.

**"It's okay," I lied...can find her, I will."**

“Thanks Grover. For remembering me eventually.” Annabeth teased.

“I…” Grover spluttered. Then he stopped when he saw her expression. “Wish we’d left you there.” He then said.

“Hey!” She complained but they were both grinning at each other.

**I nodded and tried..."You mean alone.**

“Really, Goat-boy?” Thalia rolled her eyes.

**Sure, Chiron."...make any sense."**

“True.” Apollo laughed. “They aren’t meant to be understood until after they come to pass.” 

**Chiron gazed at the...too sure of herself."**

“Hey!” Thalia protested.

“I stand by what I said.” Chiron told her with a smile.

**"Would you have...Thalia are much alike."**

“We are not!” They protested in unison. Then they glared at each other before bursting out laughing.

“Yeah. You’re nothing alike.” Jason said sarcastically.

**"Thanks a lot."...be a dangerous thing."**

“For Kronos.” Percy said. Thalia gave him an air high five.

**"We could handle it."...He'd nailed me.**

“One little misunderstanding.” Thalia waved this way with a chuckle.

“We reached an understanding.” Percy said.

“Eventually. And you still argue almost as much as you and Annabeth do.” Katie pointed out. 

**"Perhaps it is...that particular weapon."**

“She wasn’t too happy when she found out.” Percy sighed. He couldn’t blame Zoe for her reaction. 

**I didn't understand...for this quest myself.**

“Really?” Athena asked. All of the Gods were looking at the Centaur in astonishment. So were the demigods. “You would go on a quest.”

“It was an important quest.” Chiron reminded them. “And I assumed I would get on better with the Hunters than the campers.” He added dryly. Most people nodded in agreement.

“Chiron would have gone on a quest?” Chris whispered in awe.

“That would have been so weird.” Connor replied.

“And cool.” Travis nodded.

“You lot wanted to be stuck with just Mr D for a week?” Clarisse asked.

“Ok. Not so cool.” Travis said hurriedly.

“It would have been fine.” Katie said dismissively. “There weren’t that many of us and we would have managed without Chiron for one week. We survived Tantalus and Mr D together.”

“Good point.” Will admitted. 

“Why didn’t you go?” Dakota asked the Centaur curiously. He couldn’t imagine Lupa offering to go on a quest for them.

“I suspect you’ll find out in a second.” Chiron told him kindly. He nodded for Clarisse to read.

**I would have gone...including his own children.**

A few people, including Dakota, nodded their understanding.

“But Kronos doesn’t have a physical form. And the prophecy stated that they would die by their parent’s hand.” Hermes pointed out. 

“It wasn’t worth the risk. Can you imagine what would happen to the children if Chiron was killed?” Apollo asked his brother. Hermes winced. He did not want to think about who else Dionysus would hire to ‘teach’ their children.

**"Chiron," I said...need to rush."**

“I do wish you would have listened to me.” Chiron sighed.

“I did but I also listened to my mom.” Percy grinned.

  
“Your mother gave you the idea?” He asked with a groan. 

  
“Yep. Well, she encouraged me to. I already had the idea.” 

“I need a word with Sally it would seem.” The Centaur sighed.

**He said your time...me scared to ask.**

Chiron winced inwardly. He had not realised just  _ how _ perceptive Percy could be when he wanted to be.

**I stood at the...mom deserved an update.**

“She deserved one before now.” Annabeth told her sternly.

“I know.” Percy sighed. Besides, it had been a good thing he had called his mom.

**Finally, I took a...cop on television.**

“Yeah. I can see that.” Nico nodded, thinking back to when he had met Paul.

“That sounds like Paul.” Thalia grinned.

“It was.” Percy smiled. Paul was good for his mom.

**I was too stunned..."Mr. Blowfish?"**

Everybody burst out laughing.

  
“Really, Percy?” Annabeth asked, looking amused.

“Hey, my dad called him the same thing when he met him.” 

“I met him?” Poseidon looked bewildered.

  
“Yeah. You came to visit on my fifteenth birthday. You met Paul briefly.” Percy explained. A few of the demigods felt the familiar gnawing feeling of envy. None of their parents came by for their birthday. It wasn’t even acknowledged half the time.

**"Blofis. He'll be...was mad at herself—**

Chiron groaned. Percy was perfectly capable of getting himself into trouble without his mother encouraging him to sneak out of camp.

**"as much as I...believe I'm saying this."**

“My mom is the best.” Percy grinned.

  
“Yeah. She really is.” Annabeth nodded. 

**"Mom—"...the same for you."**

“That’s true.” Annabeth told him.

“I know.” He grinned in return.

**And with that...remember the dream.**

“Oh goodie.” Leo said sarcastically. “Your dreams suck.” He added grimly.

“I had noticed.” Percy grumbled.

**I was back in that...collapse on top of her.**

“That means that Annabeth has been holding the sky for an entire day.” Apollo gasped in shock. 

“You don’t know that Percy’s dream is happening at that moment. This must have been earlier.” Artemis corrected her brother. “No matter how strong her spirit, a mortal could not hold the sky longer than a couple of hours at the most.” 

“I held it for about an hour I think.” Annabeth frowned, thinking back. “But that’s only a guess based on the sky outside. Time is hard to measure when holding up the sky.” 

“That is still very impressive.” Artemis told her with a smile. Athena nodded but she was very concerned about the long term effects of her daughter holding up the sky. It was not a task for mortals and there was always a price to pay for a mortal doing something that was supposed to be done by an immortal.

**"How is our mortal...what happened to her.**

Hermes and Annabeth both flinched. Both of them wanted to think that Luke did still care even if he didn’t show it.

**The deep voice...celestial bronze chains.**

Apollo inhaled sharply and glared at the book as if it were the book’s fault his sister was in that state.

**I gasped. Her silvery...golden blood of the gods.**

The sun God then went from a bit annoyed to downright murderous. Nobody messed with his sister.  _ Nobody _ !

“Hey, dude, we rescued her. Lady Artemis is completely fine.” Percy told him. Then, praying the Gods were indeed still mortal, he dared to poke Apollo in the ribs playfully to get his attention. Poseidon inhaled sharply, as did the others who saw what Percy had done. Apollo was not a God to mess with when he was in a foul mood. Apollo blinked rapidly and then turned to look at him. Percy fought not to cringe away from the furious look.

“You rescued her?” He asked in a demanding tone.

“Yep.” Percy nodded. Apollo exhaled loudly.

“Thank you.” He said, voice still hard with anger.

“Really, brother. Must you always overreact?” Artemis rolled her eyes. Apollo relaxed further at hearing his sister’s voice.

“You’re my baby sister. I should be there to protect you.” He stated.

“I am not your baby sister.” She retorted, rolling her eyes once more. Apollo smirked. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and then the God turned back to Percy.

“Did you poke me?” 

“Er...maybe?” Percy offered weakly. Apollo raised an eyebrow. “You were freaking out. I wanted your attention so I could tell you Lady Artemis was fine.” He admitted.

“That was dangerous of you.” Apollo told him.

“I figured but you don’t have your powers at the moment.” Percy shrugged.

“True. Still, don’t try that when I do. I don’t want to blast you accidentally.” 

“Sure thing.” 

“And thank you. Again.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Hey! He had some help.” Thalia butted in. She was watching the two closely, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Of course. He needs someone to rescue him from all the trouble attracts.” Apollo laughed.

“Hey!” Percy complained. “I’m perfectly capable of getting myself out of trouble.”

“So you don’t deny you attract plenty then?” Beckendorf smirked.

“Well it is kind of pointless.” Percy sighed in defeat. “We’re reading about exactly how much trouble I manage to attract. I still maintain it isn’t usually my fault though.”

**"You heard the...dark, horrible place.**

Apollo’s angry look was back but he reminded himself that Artemis was here now and perfectly fine.

“It would be the chains.” Athena told Percy. 

**The goddess looked...the black rocks.**

Zeus looked at his daughter in concern. She had been put in this situation because she had been trying to prove to him his father was rising. If he had been less blind, she would not have to suffer. Zeus did not like to admit he had possibly been wrong but it was being shoved into his face quite thoroughly.

**The man in the...kill the girl now."**

“What?” Hermes asked in concern.

“No!” Athena cried.

“Mom. I’m ok.” Annabeth assured her. “Luke persuaded him not to kill me.” 

**"No!'" Artemis shouted...I'm sure."**

Hermes smiled slightly. This was a sign. Maybe his son still had some good in there. Maybe he could be persuaded to see the light.

**The man considered...will be meaningless.**

“Sacrifice?” Ares perked up a little.

“What sacrifice could bring Kronos back?” Athena wondered, mind whirring. Nobody had an answer, except those who already knew.

**The lives of all...quest is… challenging."**

“Every quest is challenging.” Thalia growled.

**The man's laughter...be a horse-ke-bob!**

“I guess that’s Blackjack.” Silena laughed.

  
“Yeah.” Percy grinned. He did love that Pegasus.

**Its black wings...still sleeping for?**

“I swear Blackjack doesn’t ever sleep.” Grover muttered.

“He does but only for a couple of hours a night. He doesn’t need anymore.” Percy told him. He’d asked the Pegasus a similar thing himself at some point.

**"How many times...You're my number one.**

Poseidon smiled. That certainly was an energetic Pegasus.

**I rubbed the sleep...kind of adopt me.**

“You did play a part in his rescue.” Thalia pointed out.

“Actually, the Party Ponies did that. I was just there.” Percy shrugged.

**See, Blackjack had been...stay in the stables."**

“He never does.” Silena chuckled.

“And why not?” Chiron asked.

“He hates them.” Percy admitted.

**Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?**

“Not the same thing.” Annabeth pointed out in amusement.

**"Well… no."...underwater and help.**

“You don’t want to help them?” Triton asked with a scowl.

“I don’t mind helping. Especially the animals caught in nets and stuff but what am I supposed to do about a mermaid with a hangnail?” Percy asked in bewilderment. “All they actually want is for me to listen to them complain.”

“Fair enough.” Triton nodded. He knew how some of the mermaids could be. They were almost as bad as the children of Aphrodite.

**"All right," I said...been a laugh.**

“It probably was.” Percy muttered.

**I looked back at...dented and unusable.**

“I will make my brother another one.” Tyson promised.

“I look forward to it, big guy.” Percy grinned.

**And on my nightstand...long, long time.**

“I thought you were only going to help the animals?” Poseidon asked warily.

“I got...waylaid...on the way back.” Percy sighed. Nico grimaced. He knew what was coming up. The stupid promise he had made Percy make.

“That’s it.” Clarisse announced.

“Let’s take a quick break.” Chiron announced. Everybody got up and left the room. 

Thalia made to go and speak to Percy but was stopped when she almost walked right into her father.

“Father.” She said respectfully.

“I wish to speak with you.” He said. Thalia was a bit taken aback. Zeus had not spoken to her directly much at all since their arrival here. And then it was only during the readings. Not that Thalia took it too personally. She figured Hera would blow a gasket. As it was she was scowling in their direction furiously.

“Of course.” She replied. She couldn’t exactly say no. Zeus nodded and then briskly strode down a corridor. Thalia hurried to keep up. After a few minutes they stopped outside a sky blue door and Zeus opened it, allowing her to go inside. She guessed this was her dad’s quarters. She looked around with interest. It was quite clear that Hera had done most of the decoration. The walls were cream with the carpet the same blue as the door. However the rest of the place was mostly white and the room was full of peacock decorations. It was marginally better than Cabin 1 due to the lack of statue but it wasn’t a place Thalia would call comfortable. At a gesture from her father, she sat on the cream couch. It was very comfortable. Zeus sat opposite her and she waited for him to say something. There were a tense few minutes before he opened his mouth.

“I...during the reading you…” He looked around awkwardly. “Do you really think I would kill my own daughter?” Thalia sighed.

“Not anymore. I will admit there was a time that I thought you might have done.” Thalia saw a look of hurt cross her father’s face. It surprised her. “It was just a trick my Atlas.” She told him. He nodded.

“You don’t think that anymore?”

“No.” 

“Good.” Zeus coughed and there was another awkward silence. “Why did you become a Hunter?” He asked. “Was it just to avoid the prophecy?” 

“I think we’ll be reading about it. I...I almost made a huge mistake and Percy stopped me. I realised he was much better suited to be the child of the prophecy. Becoming a Hunter made sense. Plus...I…” She trailed off, not wanting to talk about her love life with her father. He frowned in confusion. “Luke.” She said. He nodded, clearly understanding where she was going. He was about as eager to discuss the issue as she was.

“Are you…” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Thalia was taken aback by the very human gesture. “Are you happy?” 

“Yes.” Thalia answered confidently. “Very.”

“Good.” 

“Shall we get back?” She offered. Her father nodded eagerly. They both stood up and made their way to the door. Before she could open it, Thalia felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and stood face to face with her father.

“I’m proud of you.” He said solemnly. Thalia couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. He squeezed her shoulder and then they both left the room. Zeus needed to go and do some damage control with his wife. He did not want her retaliating against Thalia. He would not stand for it and his wife needed to understand this.

*****************************************************

Annabeth approached Percy just as he was about to go into the dining hall.

“Can we talk?” She asked. 

“Sure.” He agreed easily, wondering what Annabeth could want to talk to him about that couldn’t be said while they ate. They made their way out to the gardens and sat down on a bench overlooking the pavilion. It was a brilliant day and Percy sat back, closing his eyes and enjoying soaking up some sunshine. “What’s up?” He asked, eyes still closed.

“Do you hate it when I call you seaweed brain?” Annabeth asked. Percy opened his eyes and looked at her. He didn’t answer immediately as he wasn’t sure how to express his feelings on the matter. Before this reading he would have simply dismissed this and pretended he loved it. But then, before this reading, Annabeth would never have asked. She seemed to take his silence as confirmation. “I’m sor…”

“I don’t hate it.” He interrupted. “I used to, definitely. It reminded me a lot of Gabe’s insults, especially when I knew you meant it in a horrible way.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Annabeth told him, looking distressed.

“I know. I didn’t blame you. I didn’t want you to know.” Percy shrugged. “But after our first quest I knew you didn’t mean it in such a bad way.”

“It was supposed to just be a friendly nickname.” 

“Yeah. Like I said, I understood and I don’t hate it.”

“But you don’t like it either.”

“Not really.” He admitted sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I figured if you knew I didn’t like it, you would use it more just to annoy me.” He admitted. Annabeth opened her mouth to protest and then shut it again. She had to admit that was something she would probably have done. 

“Sorry.” She said again. Percy just shrugged. “I’ll try not to use it anymore. No promises it won’t slip out accidentally sometimes.” He grinned.

“I appreciate you trying.” He said. She nodded. Annabeth cast around for a different subject to lighten the mood.

“So, are you and Thalia going to have a rematch?”

“Of course.” Percy smirked. “And I can’t wait for the Hunters to come back to camp.”

“I’m not sure camp will still be standing with you two against each other. It was bad enough with you on the same team apparently.” Annabeth laughed. 

“We’ll leave something standing. Maybe the big house.” Percy grinned. They fell into a comfortable silence until Annabeth had to ask.

“What’s up with you and Apollo?” Percy went a little red before shrugging.

“Dunno what you mean.”

“Well, he’s been giving you archery lessons every day. Now he’s sitting next to you and you’re acting like best friends. Not to mention you’re stupid enough to be poking him when he’s angry. ”

“Hey. I knew he couldn’t blast me.” Percy pointed out.

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t stupid.” 

“I dunno. I just, we get on pretty well. He’s kinda awesome for a God.” He shrugged again. 

“You haven’t spent much time with Rachel.” She pointed out suddenly. Annabeth wasn’t quite sure why she said that now but it had been on her mind for a while. Percy had suddenly been spending a lot more time with Thalia, his dad or Apollo. His dad made sense. Thalia sort of made sense because she seemed to have suddenly become super supportive and protective. Apollo was weird but Annabeth figured she wouldn’t get anymore answers to that. It bothered her but she could come back to it later. But that also meant he hadn’t spent much time with her or Grover of even Rachel. It had annoyed her how much time he had spent with the mortal girl over the summer. Now he had barely spoken to her really, except for a couple of mealtimes.

“Yeah. I just seem to have been spending time with other people.” Percy shrugged once more. “It’s not often I get to see my dad. Plus Thalia has been pretty insistent on Big Three kids bonding time. We should probably be getting back.” He said suddenly. Annabeth was surprised but nodded. They had been gone a little longer than Chiron had probably planned. 

They were among the last once back. Everyone took the same seats as before. Then Chris picked up the book.

  
“I’ll read.” He stated as he found the correct page. Chiron nodded.


	8. I Make a Dangerous Promise

“Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” Nico sighed.

“What would you make Percy promise?” Hades asked curiously.

  
“You’ll find out.” Nico said grimly. Poseidon was eyeing his son worriedly. He knew Percy survived this but he had a suspicion as to what the promise would be involving young Nico. He also guessed that if Percy were unable to fulfil said promise he would feel extremely guilty, whether it was his fault or not, which he did not need given his proclivity for wishing he could drown.

**Blackjack gave me...waterskiing any day.**

Percy smiled. “I wish I could do that all the time.”

“Riding Pegasi is amazing.” Silena agreed. Reyna nodded. She loved Scipio.

**Here. Blackjack slowed...I wanted them to.**

“You do have very good control.” Poseidon smiled proudly.

“Maybe we could practise at some point.” Triton offered a little awkwardly. His dad had spoken to him about making an effort with Percy. Having read a little more of the book, Triton understood that his half brother was not just another typical demigod. He might not like that his father had cheated on his mother but he was slowly warming up to Percy. There was something about the kid that he simply couldn’t help but like. It also gave him a little satisfaction to see the surprise in his eyes at the offer. Triton wondered if he had met Percy yet in Percy’s time. 

“Yeah, sure. Sounds great.” Percy replied once he regained his voice.

**I shot down into...I could dive.**

“No limit.” Triton told him. 

“That’s cool.” Percy grinned.

**I knew most regular...where everything was.**

“That’s also pretty cool.” Leo said, Percy nodded.

“It sounds weird but also useful.” Piper smiled. She loved the ocean. 

**As I got closer to...the trapped animals die.**

Poseidon, Triton, Artemis, Rachel, Grover and Percy all looked angry at this. 

“How can they do that?” Grover asked.

“They are mortals.” Artemis sniffed disdainfully.

“Hey. Not all mortals are like that.” Rachel scowled. “I hate those things too.” 

**Apparently this poor...of the tangled animal.**

“It’s a good job you were nearby.” Poseidon told his son.

“You have no idea.” Percy muttered to himself. He wondered if it was fate that the Ophiotauros had appeared to him first. 

**The hippocampi were...all that smart.**

“You’re not wrong.” Triton laughed. “Wonderful creatures though.” He added when he saw his father’s raised eyebrow. Poseidon smirked.

“Rainbow is smart.” Tyson protested.

“Yeah. Rainbow is pretty special.” Percy agreed. 

**Free it, lord! A hippocampus...like an enormous eel.**

“No.” Artemis whispered. “I had not considered…”

“You know what that thing is?” Apollo asked his sister.

“I have a suspicion.” She admitted. “But I cannot be sure.” 

“I think you are correct.” Poseidon told her. He too, was positive he knew what this creature was. He was also worried that it had found his son. There was only one creature that matched that description.

**"Whoa, little one,"...I uncapped Riptide,**

“The creature will not like that.” Triton told him.

“I know. But at the time I couldn’t think of any other way of getting it free.” Percy shrugged.

**and the sword grew...which didn't help.**

“I think that’s a no to the sword.” Rachel muttered.

“You don’t say.” Grover replied sarcastically.

“Why would it get so freaked out?” Silena wondered. Nobody gave her an answer.

**"Okay, okay!" I said...Vegetarianism."**

Poseidon couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him at his son’s thoughts and words. 

“Really, Percy?” Grover asked.

“Hey, it was all I could think of.” Percy defended himself.

**I doubted the cow...probably a "she")**

Percy grimaced while Grover tried not to laugh too hard.

**panicked at the...dangerous they were.**

Artemis and Poseidon exchanged worried looks. 

**"All right," I told...cow serpent's hooves.**

“That’s some serious dedication.” Leo whistled. Triton nodded in approval.

“I couldn’t just leave the poor guy there.” Percy shrugged.

“I thought you had decided it was a girl?” Rachel asked. Percy went a little red. 

“Maybe mistaking genders is a son of Poseidon thing. Polyphemus wasn’t too hot on that either.” Connor snickered. Triton, Tyson and Percy all glared at him.

**It took forever...good cow name.**

“You named...you named it Bessie?” Poseidon raised an eyebrow in astonishment. Only his son could name an ancient and powerful monster something like 'Bessie'.

“Er...yeah.” Percy nodded, looking sheepish.

“That is a strange name.” Triton frowned. His half brother was very strange.

**"Good cow...out of trouble."**

Somehow, Poseidon expected that wasn’t going to happen.

**Which reminded me...always dangerous, boss.**

“Not always.” Annabeth corrected. 

“But most of the time.” Thalia added.

**You saved my...couldn't save my friend.**

“Well the baby monster wasn’t the other side of the country.” Rachel pointed out. “Or guarded by a Titan.”

**As Blackjack flew...he doing up there?**

Hades looked at his son in confusion while Nico grimaced.

**I hesitated...Mythomagic game.**

Nico did laugh a little at that. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.” He joked.

“Yeah. Sadly, I do.” Percy sighed theatrically. 

**But something was...spying on the Hunters.**

“Excuse me? Pulling a Grover?” Grover asked indignantly.

“Pulling a Grover.” Annabeth and Thalia both said the phrase and then burst out laughing.

  
  
“It’s definitely accurate.” Travis sniggered.

**There were voices...Tour T-shirt with it."**

“You did what?” Artemis shrieked. Silena and Drew chuckled happily.

  
  
“She totally deserved it.” Connor said.

“How dare you deliberately injure my Hunter!”

“Like they deliberately injured pretty much all the campers?” Travis shot back. “She deserved what she got.” Ares, Aphrodite and Hermes were nodding vigorously in agreement. 

“Good job boys.” Hermes told them, high fiving his kids. Chiron sighed. Those two were bad enough without their father encouraging them. Still, he couldn’t help but support the sons of Hermes. While he disagreed with the rather extreme measures, he couldn’t deny the campers had deserved some form of revenge. Which was why the two brothers had gotten away with the bare minimum punishment for their stunt.

**"That's terrible!"...with horrible hives.**

Artemis opened her mouth to yell some more but she was faced with several glares from other Gods who had not appreciated her Hunter’s treatment of their children. 

**There is no way...we would lose one."**

“The quest had not officially started. It would not come true yet.” Apollo said. “This is simply Fate making sure the people who need to be on the quest, are on the quest.” He smiled at Percy.

**"In the land...land without rain."**

“It still has rain. Especially when Zeus is in a bad mood.” Beckendorf said, recalling Percy’s first summer.

**"But—"...risk another Hunter."**

“To be honest I can’t blame her.” Reyna sighed. “The prophecy said that two people will die. I wouldn’t want to risk anyone else either.”

“Except you can’t avoid prophecies.” Apollo reminded her.

“I know.” She replied grimly. While she still envied the Greeks for having an Oracle and getting prophecies for their quests, part of her was glad the Romans did not have the same. Octavian's vague rubbish was mostly pointless but Reyna wasn't sure if she could handle her responsibilities as Praetor otherwise. If she knew that two people would definitely die on a quest, how could she allow them to go? Regardless of Fate, those deaths would be on her hands and the idea was incredibly painful. She certainly had a new respect for Chiron, not that she didn't respect him before. 

**Bianca was silent...about the General—"**

“While I wish she had told me, it wouldn’t really have changed much.” Thalia shrugged. 

**"I have thy word..."Wow. Cool."**

“You’re easily distracted.” Will laughed.

**"How did you...on the quest," I guessed.**

“No!” Hades almost shouted in his concern. It was bad enough his daughter was going on this quest with no training. He couldn’t stand it if his ten year old son also went, given that he also had no training. Nico didn’t even have the enhanced abilities of the Hunters to help.

“I didn’t go, dad.” Nico assured his father. Hades let out a sigh of relief.

**"How did you know that?"..."Maybe you're right.**

“Thank you.” Hades said to Percy. Percy nodded in response. 

**But, but you can go for me."**

Nico groaned. “I’m sorry, Percy.”

“It’s alright. I wanted to go anyway.” Percy shrugged though he knew that wasn’t exactly what Nico was apologising for. The son of Hades looked like he wanted to say something else but he stopped himself. Will looked between the two of them curiously.

**"Say what?"...aren't you?"**

“He’s got you there.” Clarisse chuckled.

**I wanted to say no...keep my sister safe."**

Nico buried his face in Will’s shoulder while Percy shrank back against his father. Despite the fact that Nico had now forgiven him, Percy wasn’t sure he could forgive himself. He should have told Nico he simply couldn’t make that promise. It was a foolish thing to do.

“Nobody can promise something like that on a quest.” Reyna told Nico gently. 

“I know that now.” Nico muttered, his voice muffled by Will’s shoulder. “I was naive and I thought Percy could do anything.”

Hades looked between his son and his nephew. Then he swallowed sharply as he realised what their reactions meant. His daughter was not coming back from this trip. She would be one of those that was lost. The God of the Underworld had to blink rapidly to prevent any tears falling, lest the other Gods notice. It pained him deeply to even consider that he might be the one who killed his daughter. He could not imagine any situation where that would occur. Especially given how long he had hidden them from his brother. 

“You would not kill her.” Persephone whispered. His perceptive wife had caught on almost immediately. “I am sorry.” She added. Hades could do nothing but nod. He held her closer in an attempt to fight back the urge to go and pick up his son and never let him out of his sight.

**"I… that's a big...I promise that."**

“That’s all you can do.” Gwen told him kindly. Percy bit back a reply. He did not want to give away that Bianca had indeed died. Although, glancing around he guessed that Hades had figured it out. He wondered if his uncle would blame him, as Nico had. It was possible. 

**"Get going, then!" he said...up with them. Run?**

“That would have been interesting.” Thalia laughed, trying to lighten the tense and solemn mood that had settled over the room.

**Then I heard the..."Yeah. Let's fly."**

Poseidon sighed, wishing that, for once, his son would not run off into the thick of things.

“Chapters over.” Chris announced. “That was a pretty short one.”

“I need a word with my son.” Hades stated, before anyone could offer to read. Nico cringed but looked up at his father and nodded. The two of them left the room. They didn’t go far, just to a desert room that Nico guessed was simply for storage.

“Your sister...she dies on this trip. Doesn’t she?” Hades choked out after a few moments of silence. Nico swallowed. He had hoped to postpone this conversation.

“Yes.” He finally admitted, looking down. Hades sniffed as he tried to contain his pain. Suspicions were one thing. To hear it so bluntly confirmed was quite another. How was he supposed to listen to his daughter die? Especially as his nephew’s thoughts could be quite descriptive.

“How?” He asked tentatively.

“I don’t know the details. I ran away before Percy could give me any. I blamed him because he didn’t keep his promise. But he did. I know he did his best because Percy wouldn’t do anything less.” Nico blinked away tears. Hades moved forwards and hugged his son, letting Nico sob against his chest. His own tears trickled down his face. He had lost and mourned many children, but this time felt different. Maybe because of the readings, maybe due to the chance to actually get to know his children in person, although not Bianca. He wasn’t sure exactly what the difference was, just that the loss of his daughter was worse than any other loss he could remember. He now simply hoped that Nico and Hazel would remain safe and alive.

They stayed that way for a long time, neither of them feeling inclined to move. Nor were they in a hurry to continue with the readings. Nico didn’t even know how long he had until he had to hear about Bianca’s death. At least he knew Percy would give him some warning. 

“We should get back.” Nico said finally. Hades nodded but didn’t realise his son for another few seconds. The two of them made their way back to the room where Zeus was clearly getting impatient. They arrived just in time to hear Poseidon tell his brother to shut up and that Hades and Nico could take as long as they needed. As they walked back into the room, Hades shot his brother a grateful look, ignoring the surprised expressions as people realised he had been crying. 

“Well, I’m pretty sure it’s my turn to read.” Travis spoke up, wanting to direct the attention away from Nico and his father. He picked up the book and hurriedly began reading.


	9. I Learn How to Grow Zombies

“What?” Annabeth asked in confusion.

“Cool!” Connor called out. “Can you teach us!”

“No.” Chiron stated firmly.

“Awww.” Travis pouted.

“Why were you learning to grow zombies?” Frank asked, looking a little creeped out.

“I spied on the enemy while they were growing zombies.” Percy clarified. Most people still looked confused.

  
  
“Is this where those things came from?” Thalia asked. Percy nodded. 

“The ones that were chasing you?” Rachel wondered. He nodded once more. “Cool. Hopefully I’ll be in this soon.” She grinned. 

**The thing about...stinging my skin.**

“Did you even have a jacket?” Poseidon asked his son in concern.

“Yes but it wasn't a particularly thick one.” Percy admitted. “I didn’t really have a lot of time.”

**I was wishing I'd...their products anymore.**

“The store stuff is fine.” Connor assured him.

“We only did it to that one t-shirt because Phoebe deserved it.” Travis agreed. Artemis scowled once more and muttered some insults about boys under her breath.

**We lost the van...thing in her hair.**

“Zoe can drive?” Silena asked.

“Well, Bianca can’t, she’s twelve.” Beckendorf pointed out. “I doubt Grover can although he’s technically old enough, hooves would make it difficult. After the disaster that was Lord Apollo’s chariot, would you really want Thalia driving?” He asked.

“Good point. Zoe it is.” Silena laughed.

“Hey!” Thalia grumbled. However she couldn’t protest too much or they would realise she was scared of heights. 

**"Zoe?"...her birth date said.**

“She wouldn’t need one.” Artemis rolled her eyes impatiently. “She would simply manipulate the mist.” 

**"Well," I said...stones of the building.**

“You’ve noticed he is missing then.” Hermes stated. “I’m impressed.”

“You didn’t try to stop him during the summer.” Poseidon frowned. He wondered what had caused Dionysus to stop Percy this time around. He was also mildly concerned about Percy’s reaction, given his inability to keep his mouth shut in the face of the God.

**They were wrapping...It's the wine dude!**

The room start snickering as Dionysus glared at the book, wishing he could burn the stupid thing and be done with it.

**Mr. D sighed in exasperation...bottle of Merlot!"**

“Exactly.” Dionysus agreed with his book self.

**"Mr. D." I tried to keep...without permission?"**

“You didn’t before.” Percy shrugged.

“Or he did but had no reason to stop you before.” Apollo said, watching his half brother shrewdly. “Going to the Sea of Monsters was risky but D probably wanted Chiron’s name cleared as much as you guys did. Plus staying at Camp with Tantalus was no safer than leaving. This time, he knows that at least two people will die. If you go, that makes three people from Camp, meaning that there is a very high chance of at least one of you dying. Now it is much safer for you if he stops you and sends you home.”

At this statement, Athena looked around. Now they knew exactly who was on the quest, it was clear that none of those from Camp were going to be the ones to die. Percy, Thalia and Grover were all here which meant it was both the Hunters who died. 

Artemis had suspected this already since she was pretty sure that Zoe died and people’s reactions in the last chapter also suggested that the daughter of Hades also died. But, as she realised the same thing as Athena, she hung her head sadly. She would lose two wonderful Hunters on this quest to save her. This was why she hadn’t wanted them to come and look for her! Poor Bianca, who had barely had a chance to experience the wonders of the Hunt. And Zoe. Faithful, loyal, Zoe. 

“I do not care about the brat’s safety.” Dionysus argued, though there was less bite in it than usual. In fact he was too busy being astonished that Apollo had figured him out so easily. Apollo shot his sister a sympathetic look. She always took it hard when she lost a Hunter and in this book she would lose two, including her favourite Lieutenant. 

**"Well… maybe."...stand either idea.**

“Percy.” Poseidon groaned.

**"Why do you...need no other reason."**

“Honestly, you don’t like one hero so you take out your anger on all of them.” Hermes rolled his eyes. 

“That’s quite common.2 Percy muttered, thinking of Zoe.

**"I have to go on...want to talk nice.**

“At least Blackjack has some sense.” Annabeth sighed.

“For Percy that was talking nice.” Thalia snickered.

**The grape vines...story any faster.**

Dionysus glared at him furiously.

“Hey, I didn’t say it.” Percy defended himself.

“Thank goodness.” Poseidon muttered to himself. He knew his nephew was still very touchy on that subject. Despite the fact he had rescued and married Ariadne, he still took it very personally.

**"They got married,"...like a broken sandal."**

“Which was wrong of him. It also isn’t Percy’s fault. Or any other hero.” Rachel argued. 

“You wouldn’t understand.” Dionysus sneered.

**"That's wrong," I said...your ridiculous camp."**

“He’s married?” Reyna whispered to Gwen. She hadn’t known that. Although she would never  _ ever _ say it out loud, she was astonished anyone would want to marry the wine God.

“Apparently.” Gwen whispered back, equally surprised. Maybe his Roman form wasn’t married? After all, Theseus was a Greek hero.

**I stared at him...for chasing a wood nymph—"**

“And the Gods cheat all the time. You know that.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Yeah. I keep forgetting that part. I don’t like to think about it.” Percy admitted. He certainly tried not to dwell on the fact that he was born because his dad cheated on his wife.

**"My point is you heroes never change.**

“Neither do the Gods.” Thalia pointed out. 

**You accuse us...ask Zoe Nightshade."**

“Ask Zoe? Does that mean he’s letting you go?” Will asked. It seemed too easy.

“You know I went on the quest.” Percy pointed out with a frown.

  
“Well yeah, but it seems weird that he is just letting you go.” Will shrugged. Percy nodded. To be honest, he’d been surprised too.

**"What do you mean...you'll be one of them.**

Poseidon scowled at Dionysus.

**But mark my words...than the other heroes."**

“You’re wrong.” Annabeth told the God. “Percy is nothing like those heroes.” Dionysus scoffed but did not bother to argue. He would be proved right eventually, somewhere in these books they would see the sea brat was not as perfect as he was made out to be.

**With that, Dionysus...he was so tired.**

“Poor Blackjack.” Silena winced in sympathy.

“That is one loyal Pegasus.” Leo smiled. He missed Festus.

**I'll be okay, boss...hot chocolate problem,**

Most people started laughing at the random image.

“It would turn invisible with you.” Annabeth told him, through her own laughter.

  
“Good to know.” Percy grinned.

**when my whole...sure I did it right."**

“You did great, Grover.” Thalia assured him.

“Thanks...I mean, of course I did.” Grover replied, forcing some fake confidence into his voice.

**"D.C. is about sixty...are better?" Thalia growled.**

“I doubt they are better than a Satyr’s magic.” Dionysus scoffed.

**Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion?**

“Scullion?” Leo laughed. 

“Zoe’s very old fashioned. She never did speak in the modern way.” Thalia said with a slightly wistful smile.

**You know nothing...is a scullion?"**

“It is an old time word for a servant who usually was given the most menial kitchen tasks.” Annabeth told the room in general.

“Why do you know that?” Percy asked in disbelief.

“Why don’t you?” She shot back.

**"Whoa, you two,"...automobiles were invented. Let us go."**

“Why? I wouldn’t have thought the Hunters had much cause to be driving.” Rachel frowned.

“Sometimes we do need to use mortal methods to travel, especially if we are not with Lady Artemis.” Thalia told her. “Though that does not happen often.”

**As Blackjack and I...and hunted dinosaurs.**

Most of the room burst out laughing.

**How old was...had with heroes?**

Artemis, Percy, Thalia and Grover all grimaced.

**As we got closer...had to be rough.**

“He definitely likes you to do that.” Poseidon stated. While all Pegasi would do it because of who Percy was, if they did not like him they would certainly complain. Nor would they have volunteered in the first place. They were honour bound to help Percy if he asked, they did not have to offer help if he didn’t ask first.

**Don't worry about...didn't want that.**

Triton nodded approvingly. At least his half brother was considerate. He knew some of the other demigod children of his father often took animals for granted. 

**Fortunately, the van...out of the sky.**

“The Mist would make sure they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Chiron smiled slightly.

**"Set me down there,"...handsome like me.**

Everyone laughed again.

“They definitely did not meet anything as nice as Blackjack.” Percy groaned. Those skeleton monsters were not nice or handsome in the slightest.

“You’re so lucky to be able to understand Pegasi.” Silena sighed wistfully. She wondered if Blackjack was typical of Pegasi or whether he was as unique as Percy himself. Drew scoffed. Why would you want to be able to understand horses? Even magical ones. She would make a far more suitable leader of Aphrodite cabin. 

**I promised to be careful...been following the van.**

“I can’t believe we didn’t notice that.” Thalia groaned.

“I can.” Grover muttered. “You were too busy arguing with Zoe.” Thalia grimaced. That was true.

“You’re being followed already? That is not good.” Hermes said worriedly.

“Well, they were obviously expected to make a rescue attempt.” Athena pointed out. She was concerned for her daughter. While she knew Annabeth was fine physically after this, the time spent with that Hermes boy could have been far more mentally damaging. 

**The guy took out...from Westover Hall.**

“Definitely not good.” Reyna frowned in concern.

**Invisibility cap on...being held prisoner.**

“You thought those dreams were fake?” Annabeth asked him.

“I really didn’t know how you’d survive a fall like that.” Percy admitted. “Plus, I figured Kronos might want to lead me, and probably Thalia, into a trap.” He shrugged. 

“What do you mean probably?” Thalia asked indignantly.

“I didn’t know if you had had the dreams too. If you didn’t then I would have guessed he was only trying to lure me there.” Percy replied. She nodded, understanding his reasoning.

**Thorn kept well...so much bigger then.**

“That’s because you were a lot smaller back then, Seaw...obviously.” Annabeth rolled her eyes to cover her slip. Percy gave her a grateful look while also sticking his tongue out at her.

**Thalia checked the...and followed him.**

“Good job you did.” Grover said. 

“It would have been better if he’d told us we were being followed so we could be aware.” Thalia pointed out.

“Oh yes, because you would totally have believed me without any kind of argument.” Percy scoffed. Thalia shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

**Thorn crossed the...FOR PIRATE EVENT.**

“Pirate event?” Nico wondered.

“So you do like pirates then?” Will asked, having caught the younger boy’s enthusiasm. He recalled Nico’s excitement as they read about Blackbeard in the last book.

“N...no.” Nico denied.

“Liar.” 

“Shut up.”

**Then I realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.**

“That makes more sense.” Dakota nodded.

**I followed Dr. Thorn...called them Scythian dracaenae.**

“Hey! You remembered.” Annabeth said in a pleased voice.

“I do listen to you sometimes.” Percy told her with a laugh.

**But that wasn't the...in just a few months.**

Hermes chewed on his lower lip in concern. While his son was a traitor, he was still his son and it worried him to hear of Luke’s condition. The hurt, the bitterness and the worry that was now a permanent state of being, all squeezed his heart a little bit tighter at hearing how badly Luke seemed to be doing. Something was obviously going on and Hermes still had a tiny thread of hope that Luke would realise his mistake and come back to their side. 

**The angry light in...recently been reopened.**

The worry intensified. What was Kronos forcing his son to do? Hermes put his arms around his sons sitting next to him and squeezed their shoulders just to make sure they were still there.

**Next to him, sitting..."They are here, General."**

“Atlas is there himself?” Poseidon said in shock. “Percy you need to leave now!” 

“Nothing I can do about it now dad.” Percy reminded him. Zeus was throwing concerned looks towards Thalia. Suddenly he felt a bout of sympathy for his brother. He had no idea how Poseidon had coped with two other books about his son being in danger. 

**"I know that, you fool,"...Luke corrected irritably.**

“I don’t think he cares.” Chris muttered.

**Dr. Thorn glared at...as call him sir.**

“Probably.” Clarisse said. “I’d rather run them both through.” She added in a lower voice so Hermes didn’t hear.

“I think Thorn is already dead.” Chris told her quietly.She grunted in acknowledgement but said nothing further.

**"How many?" Luke asked..."Thalia," Luke said.**

Jason scowled. “Yeah. Your ex best friend that you tried to murder.” He said heatedly.

**"And two other...the General growled.**

Now Artemis was glaring at the book.

**Everyone in the...keep them occupied."**

“Playmate?” Zeus asked anxiously.

“Er...yeah. No biggie.” Thalia said with a helpless shrug. 

“We dealt with it.” Percy grinned, recalling how they had beaten the Nemean Lion. Thalia and Grover both laughed.

**"But—"...too fragile to risk.**

Hermes wondered why Thorn would call his son fragile. While his condition didn’t seem good, from what he had heard Luke was generally far from fragile. Maybe it was to do with whatever was causing his sickness. He wondered why Luke would agree to do something that made him so ill. Although he probably didn’t have much choice.

**Let me finish them off."...he could even move.**

Zeus, Poseidon and Artemis did not appreciate further confirmation that a dangerous enemy like Atlas was that close to their children/Hunters.

**"You have already...the General said.**

“Please do.” Beckendorf said casually. “Would make life much easier if you just threw your own monsters into that pit for us.”

“The problem is he has more than enough to make up for the loss of one monster.” Clarisse reminded him.

“True but any loss is still good for us.” Beckendorf shrugged.

**"I send you to...scrawny daughter of Athena."**

“I am not scrawny.” Annabeth said indignantly.

“Pretty much everybody is scrawny compared to that guy.” Percy told her. She glared at him.

**"But you promised...our plan at all.**

Athena scowled as she recalled how the son of Hermes had used her daughter’s affection to trap her under the sky.

**Now get out of my...then come to her."**

“Why do they want a monster to find Thalia?” Reyna asked. “It does not sound like they want it to kill her.” Poseidon and Artemis exchanged another look. They very much hoped they were wrong.

“I’m sure it’s for nothing good.” Gwen sighed.

**"The Hunters will...have the teeth?"**

“Teeth?” Connor asked, bewildered.

“Is he going to grow zombies with teeth?” Will asked, thinking about the chapter title.

“That is not good.” Hades’ eyes went wide as he realised what Atlas had planned. “Those are incredibly difficult to destroy. Only my children will be able to do so easily.”

“Good job Bianca is there then.” Dakota said. Several people glared at him for this.

“Bianca has had no training. She will not be able to defeat those monsters on her own.” Hades snapped angrily. 

**The guy stumbled...wasn't Hawaiian Punch.**

“No.” Poseidon said heavily.

**The soil began to bubble...Luke clenched his fists.**

The Stolls and Chris all looked savagely happy about this guy insulting Luke’s army. Whatever upset their traitorous half brother was good enough to make them happy.

**"I've spent a year...the General said that.**

Hermes jolted. He had a sudden, horrible suspicion about what role Luke might have to play for Kronos. The scythe, the new powers...it all made sense. For a second, Hermes did wonder if Gods could pray and he certainly wished that he could. He had never wanted to be so wrong before. Despite that, something told him his guess was right. He squashed that down quickly. The God would not believe it until he read it.

**"—but under my..."Mew?"**

“What?” Hades frowned in confusion. While Percy chuckled. Atlas’ face had been hilarious at the time. To be honest, so had Luke’s.

**It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger.**

“The ultimate killing machine is a kitten?” Clarisse asked in bewilderment.

“No. They got the wrong teeth.” Percy snickered. 

“That guy is in big trouble.” Nico winced. 

**Then another appeared...Cute cuddly kittens?**

“Ha! Even the big, scary Titan thinks kittens are cute.” Piper laughed.

**Where did you...see your face again."**

“The mortal got away lightly.” Apollo noted. He had expected Atlas to kill the mortal for messing up. 

“Yeah. That’s not like him.” Ares frowned. 

**The terrified guard...General said. "I love them."**

Rachel scowled at this.

**A minute later..."Curse my stiff neck."**

The Gods all smiled nastily.

**"Another hot pad...shall do nicely."**

“Oh that’s definitely not good.” Hades muttered. 

“You already said that.” Persephone pointed out.

“And it gets less good by the second.” Hades grumbled. Poseidon moved so that he could give Percy a sideways hug.

**He planted them...the Hunters wore.**

Artemis gasped. If those things had her Hunters’ scent. They would be able to find them wherever they were.

**"Excellent," the General said...Toss it here!"**

“So they are going to need Godly intervention, or hope that Bianca can kill them all. Great choices.” Katie muttered a little bitterly. 

**As he said that...like X-ray images.**

“That’s both really cool and really gross.” Will said.

“I’d go with gross.” Silena wrinkled her nose.

“Me too.” Piper agreed.

“They were definitely  _ not _ cool.” Percy said firmly.

**One of them looked...scarf out of the air.**

“Percy!” Poseidon and Apollo both cried out. They were both terrified now that Percy had just revealed himself with Atlas right there, not to mention Luke and Thorn too.

“Thank you.” Artemis said, looking at Percy gratefully.

“It didn’t help all that much.” Percy sighed, looking grim.

**"What's this?"...out of my sleeve.**

“No!” The sea God groaned. “Now they will never stop hunting you.” 

“One of us had better help with that or they have no chance.” Apollo winced. He suspected that he was keeping an eye on this quest because of Artemis, so maybe he would be able to help out.

“It was very brave of you to protect the Hunters but also pretty foolish.” Thalia told him. 

“That’s Percy.” Annabeth sighed.

**When I glanced...it shut behind me.**

“At least you got out of there.” Beckendorf let out a sigh of relief.

**And then I ran.**

“Chapter is over.” Travis announced.

“Well, it has gotten very late. We’ve even missed dinner. Let’s have a light snack and then you may have an hour to yourselves before it is time for bed.” Chiron announced. A few people were startled to realise exactly how late it was. They had been doing this for quite a while. 

They all got up and made their way towards the dining hall. Percy made sure to sit down next to Rachel, Annabeth’s comment about him not spending much time with her still in his head.

“So, how are you finding all this?” He asked as he shovelled a slice of pizza into his mouth.

“It’s pretty weird but also really cool. I can’t wait until I’m in the book.” Rachel grinned.

“You’re never going to let me live that down.” He complained.

“You tried to kill me with a sword!”

“I thought you were a zombie.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Percy opened his mouth to reply when Rachel just laughed and shook her head. They continued chatting for a little while until Silena and Beckendorf came over. Beckendorf looked slightly confused while Silena looked like she was about to throw up.

“Percy, can I have a word? In private?” Percy was pretty confused by this. He got on well with Silena, she wasn’t like most of the Aphrodite kids, but they still didn’t really talk much.

“Sure.” He frowned. He stood up and Silena led the way out to the gardens. Beckendorf came too. Eventually they sat down on one of the benches. Silena looked around to make sure they were completely alone. By now she was very pale and seemed to be on the verge of tears. Beckendorf looked as confused and worried as Percy felt. 

“Si, what’s the matter?” The son of Hephaestus asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Ok. So tell us.” He said easily.

“I...you’ll hate me.” Now she really did burst into tears. Beckendorf pulled her to his chest and began murmuring words of comfort while Percy sat on her other side feeling increasingly awkward. He had half a mind to leave them to it when Silena suddenly sat up once more. “I’vebeenspyingforLuke. I’m his spy at camp. I’m so sorry!” The words came out in such a rush that Percy couldn’t work out what she had said for a few moments. Then it hit him and his mouth fell open. Of all the people he would have suspected, Silena was not one of them. The girl was crying even more heavily than before now, her face in her hands. 

“You? But...what? I mean...why?” Percy frowned. It felt like his brain had completely frozen. Then he was struck by a horrifying thought. “Does that mean Kronos knows about the books? About what’s in them?” 

“No!” She cried out, looking at him, horror on her face. “Luke gave me a bracelet to communicate with him but it didn’t come here with me. Whoever sent us left it behind.” Percy felt himself relax a little.

“Why, Si? Why would you spy for him?” Beckendorf’s voice was full of hurt and confusion. Silena winced at the tone.

“Because...because he said he would make sure you didn’t get hurt if I did. He promised.” Beckendorf frowned. How could Silena believe that to be true? It was war. Bad things happened all the time. Even if he  _ did _ try to uphold his promise, there was no way Luke could guarantee he wouldn’t get hurt. There must be more to her reasoning and he wasn’t sure he was going to like that answer any better than this one. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that his girlfriend was a spy.

“So why are you telling us now?” Percy asked. Beckendorf was glad Percy was able to ask the important questions. He wasn’t sure he was up to anything right now. 

“Because I regret it so much. I don’t want to help him any more.” Silena told them. That did make him feel marginally better. “And, I’m worried it might come up in these books. I didn’t want you to find out like that.” Beckendorf could tell she was looking at him but he couldn’t meet her gaze. He felt completely betrayed. “Charlie?” She whispered.

“What?” He barely recognised his own voice.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” And he did. Silena’s guilt and regret was clear. That didn’t mean he knew how to feel about it. He was definitely glad that she had told him before he found out in the book. He was also completely hurt and betrayed but regardless he still loved her.

“I’m glad you told us.” Percy said quietly. “You should probably tell your mom too at the very least in case it does come out in the book.” Silena nodded. Beckendorf thought that was a good idea. Zeus was going to explode when he found out. It had been bad enough when he found out about Chris. At least Chris had been on their side when they got here. Silena had still been an active spy when they had arrived. That thought made his heart ache.

“I will. But please don’t tell anyone else.” She begged.

“Talking to Chris might also be a good idea. He knows better than anyone how you probably feel right now.” Percy continued. Beckendorf nodded again. Percy was full of good ideas tonight. While Chris’ situation wasn’t the same, he was the only other person here who had been in any kind of similar situation. 

“Yeah. Ok.” Silena let out a shaky breath. Beckendorf risked a glance up. Tears were still streaming down her face and it took all his willpower not to just hold her tightly and promise everything would be alright. Except he couldn’t promise that.

“Look, I’ll leave you guys to discuss things.” Percy said. He looked completely out of place and Beckendorf didn’t blame him in the slightest. “I won’t tell anyone.” He promised, looking Silena in the eye. She let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Percy nodded and then left as quickly as possible. There was silence after he left, except for Silena’s occasional sob. Beckendorf had no idea what to say. After a little while he had to ask.

“Why did you really do it?”

“I wanted to protect you!” 

“I believe you. But there’s another reason. Isn’t there?” There was a quick flash of guilt across her face and he felt his heart break a little bit more.

“I...before we got together I had a thing for Luke.” She admitted.

“Who didn’t?” Beckendorf asked sarcastically. It felt like the entire female population at camp, except the Hermes cabin, had a crush on Luke. Some of the guys too.

“He was just so nice and understanding. He made a really good argument. I didn’t want to leave camp so I agreed to give him some information every now and again.”

“How long?” He asked, voice hard with anger.

“Since Luke left camp.” 

“3 years?” He asked in disbelief. 

“That’s when he asked me and gave me the bracelet. I refused for a while but I started giving him information last summer.”

“So you’ve been spying for Luke the entire time we’ve been together?” 

“Yes. Charlie I’m so sorry.” A new wave of sobs broke out and this time he couldn’t resist the urge to hug her tightly against him, running one hand through her hair. He could feel his shirt becoming soaked with tears. 

“We’ll work this out.” He said. She looked up at him at this statement. 

“We?” She asked anxiously.

“We.” He nodded. Her whole face lit up in delight. Beckendorf sighed and leaned forwards to kiss her forehead. “I won’t let you face this alone.” No matter how hurt he felt, she  _ had  _ confessed. She clearly regretted it. There was nothing to be done except move forwards. “Come on. Let’s go and speak to your mom, get it over with.” Silena nodded reluctantly. He laced their fingers together, wiped some tears away with his free hand and then they both stood up.

*****************************************************************

Percy left, his mind whirling. He still could not believe that Silena was a traitor. He really wanted to go and find Apollo to talk to. Talking to the God always seemed to help to clear his head but he had promised Silena he wouldn’t say anything. He walked down the corridors of the Olympian palace without a clear destination in mind. 

“Percy?” A voice called his name and he looked up in surprise. Triton was floating towards him with a slight frown on his face. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Percy said automatically. 

“I’ve heard about your use of the word ‘fine’.” Triton said with a wry smile. Percy gave a sheepish smile. 

“Honestly, I’m alright.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Triton definitely did not look convinced but thankfully didn’t push it. “How about we head out and practise some powers?” 

“That sounds great.” Percy said eagerly. That would be a wonderful distraction. Triton nodded and the two of them made their way towards their father’s quarters. The God was in there and let them in happily. In fact he seemed delighted when he heard their plans, although he did decline to join them. Percy was a little surprised by this but didn’t comment as he and Triton headed through the door that led to the sea. 

As soon as he was through Percy felt refreshed as the sea surrounded him. He could hear Triton’s sigh of relief as he felt the same thing. They spent the next few minutes just enjoying being back in the water. Once they were both acclimated, Triton got him to do a few exercises to show his control over the water. They seemed quite easy but it soon ramped up. Triton was a demanding task master and asked him to manipulate the water in ways Percy hadn’t even considered before. It was good to stretch his abilities. 

After a little while they decided to have some races. Triton won all of them but given his double fishtail Percy figured that was expected. His half brother did then show him some techniques to use the water to help him move even faster. The races were closer after that but still not really a contest. Surprisingly Triton didn’t gloat at all. 

They continued messing around intermingled with some actual power practise for about another half an hour. Eventually Poseidon found them and told them that it was past the allotted bed time. They were both reluctant to return but did so with little argument. Percy was surprised with how much he had enjoyed spending time with Triton. He had seemed quite standoffish and disdainful when he first arrived but reading Percy’s thoughts seemed to have mellowed him out. 

The best part about spending time in the sea and practising his powers meant he didn’t think about anything else. It helped to clear his head and it also helped him to sleep better. For once, Percy managed to drift off to sleep within seconds of his head touching the pillow.

*************************************************

During dinner Connor had sat with his brothers, his dad, Katie, Clarisse and Demeter who had wanted to spend some time with her daughter. It had been funny as always but when they dispersed for their hour before bed Connor felt a little empty. Travis went off with Katie while Chris went with Clarisse. Demeter left to find Persephone. While he was enjoying the attention from his dad, Connor felt weird being alone with him. He missed Travis but his brother deserved some uninterrupted time with Katie. He knew how hard Travis had tried to impress her.

Still, that left him with very few options. Pulling pranks alone was both boring and increased the risk of getting caught. He found himself wandering around aimlessly. Eventually he appeared in the market area. At this time it was pretty empty. Leo and Tyson were in one corner, talking in hushed voices and bending over something in Leo’s lap. 

“Where’s Thing 2?” Someone asked, making him jump. Whirling around, Connor saw Annabeth standing behind him, chuckling at his reaction. 

“Travis is off with Katie.” He explained.

“I’m surprised you’re not off sabotaging their date.” Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Connor found himself hurt by that accusation.

“I wouldn’t do that to Travis.” Annabeth obviously recognised that he didn’t appreciate that comment.

  
“Sorry. But you have to admit it does sound like something you would do.”

“I wouldn’t sabotage it. Once they actually admit they like each other and get a little serious I may well interrupt some dates with some pranks.” He admitted. Annabeth nodded at this. “How come you’re out here on your own?”

“Percy was pulled away by Silena of all people. And Thalia is spending time with Jason.” Connor nodded. “Besides, I could use some peace and quiet.”

“So you came and disturbed me?” He smirked. She shrugged.

“You looked lost in your own little world. I couldn’t resist.” Connor raised an eyebrow. So, little miss perfect did have some kind of pranking streak then. That was interesting. He wished she would display it a little more often. It would do her some good to lighten up somewhat. 

“Careful, I might think you have a sense of humour.” He teased.

“I have a sense of humour!” Annabeth protested defensively. Connor laughed. Then she realised he had been teasing and glared at him. 

“Prove it.” He challenged. He saw her eyes light up at the idea of a challenge, just as he suspected they would.

“How?”

“You’re going to play a prank with me.” Connor stated. She folded her arms across her chest.

“On who?” She asked warily.

“As it’s your first prank, I’ll let you choose.” He saw her considering this. Then she smirked.

“Let’s prank your brother.” Annabeth stated. “Not on his date.” She added quickly. “But we can leave a surprise for when he comes back.” Connor grinned.

“I like the way you think.” Then they set about making plans. With his pranking abilities and Annabeth’s planning, they made a good team. Connor snickered when he imagined Chiron’s face if he heard that Annabeth had joined forces with him to play pranks. 

He managed to sneak Annabeth into his father’s quarters, with permission from Hermes, without being spotted by either Chris or Travis. They went to Travis’ room and left a few surprises for him. Connor wouldn’t wait to hear his reaction. He high fived Annabeth.

“You have an evil mind when you want to.” He stated.

“You have no idea.” She smirked. “I’d best get going before they find me here.” Connor nodded. Once she left he settled himself in his room to wait. About half an hour later he heard movement from the living room area and guessed at least one of his brothers was back. There was a few minutes of silence before a high pitched shriek rent the air. It was quickly followed by a yell.

“CONNOR!” Connor smirked to himself and locked his door before letting himself fall asleep.


	10. I Break a Few Rocket Ships

Due to the late night the night before, everyone got up rather late the next morning. Surprisingly Percy, Triton, Tyson and Poseidon were the first ones down to breakfast, with the exception of Hestia. The sea God went to sit with his sister while his children all sat together chatting away happily. It pleased him to see Triton getting along with Percy. It was rare for his son to get along with any of his demigod children. He understood at least part of the reason why but Percy had somehow gotten through the distant exterior Triton always kept up. He knew that quite a lot of it had to do with reading these books. Triton didn’t really require sleep, same as all immortals, and so had spent most of the night reading the other books. They had spoken about it at some length during the early hours of the morning. By the end of the second book, Triton had been feeling almost as protective of Percy as Poseidon himself. 

His musings were broken by the appearance of Hades and his children. Hades looked even grimmer than usual though Poseidon couldn’t blame him. At least, for now, he knew Percy would be safe during the readings. His brother would have to read about the death of his daughter. Poseidon honestly had no idea how his brother could handle that. While their demigod children died often, when they had them, Bianca had joined the Hunters. She should have been able to live forever. Instead, just as she gained immortality, she lost it. Also, this reading experience had brought them a lot closer to their children than they had been in the past. They did not have the same distance which was both wonderful and tortuous. 

“Morning.” Hades grunted as he sat on Hestia’s other side. 

“Morning.” Poseidon greeted. Another thing this reading had done was bring him much closer to his brother. Before this, they hadn’t spoken properly in centuries. A few words were maybe exchanged at a Winter Solstice meeting but not a proper conversation. Now, they were almost back to their brotherly bond that had existed when they were first born and swallowed by their father. Their relationship with Zeus had certainly not improved much which did disappoint Poseidon a little. Because his youngest brother had never been swallowed, he had never formed the same bonds that the other five had, even with his marriage to Hera. But they had still had a better relationship than they did now and Poseidon missed it. Still, there was a lot of reading left to do. There was still a chance. 

More and more people slowly began to trickle in. The Stolls arrived in naturally dramatic fashion as Travis chased after Connor, who was sporting pink hair, with a long pole that was probably once a broom handle. 

“I can’t believe you put frog spawn in my bed! You know I hate frogs.” Travis was yelling.

“I don’t know how it got there.” Connor protested but he was laughing too hard for that to be believable. “Maybe it was Chris.”

“Hey! Don’t blame your mess on me.” Chris called as he walked into the room with Clarisse and Hermes.

“You dyed my hair pink, I think we are even.” Connor said as he dashed around one of the tables.

“Nowhere even close. You also changed my shower gel for mud!” Travis told him angrily.

“Oh yeah.” Connor snickered. That had been his idea. The frog spawn was Annabeth’s idea in return for the tarantula they had put in her bed. Travis made a swipe with the broom handle and narrowly missed Percy’s head. It actually knocked his hand and forced the pancake he had been about to eat onto the floor. Now Percy got up and joined in the chase, randomly hitting Travis in the back with jets of icy sea water.

“You lost me my pancake!” Percy growled.

“It was an accident!” Travis protested.

“Children! There are people trying to eat. Either sit down or take this outside.” Chiron called over the noise as he arrived in the room. With one last jet of water hitting Travis, Percy made his way back to his seat. The Stolls went over to sit with their dad although they kept poking each other every few seconds.

Beckendorf came in with Leo and Hephaestus. He glanced around and didn’t spot Silena so he went over to speak with Percy. The two of them went to a secluded corner of the dining room.

“How are you doing?” Percy asked quietly once they were sitting down.

“Alright, I guess.” Beckendorf sighed heavily. “We told Aphrodite last night. She was pretty good about it to be honest. Obviously she was upset but seemed happy enough with an apology.”

“That’s good. At least Silena will have a few people on her side if it comes out in the books.” Percy said. “But how are you actually coping with it?”

“I’m not sure I am.” Beckendorf confessed with a grim smile. “I feel hurt and betrayed obviously but she regrets it. But I love her, man. She was tricked and manipulated by Luke.” He spat Luke’s name furiously. Percy nodded. 

“Fair enough. Well, let me know if you guys need anything.” 

“We will. Thanks, Perc. You’re a good friend.” Beckendorf smiled. Just then Silena came in with Piper, Drew and Aphrodite. The Goddess had her arm around Silena who looked better than when Percy had seen her last night but her face was still pale and drawn. Beckendorf clapped him on the arm and made his way over to his girlfriend. Percy went over to sit with Apollo and Will who had just sat down by Nico. 

Eventually everyone was there and they all managed to finish eating without any more incidents. Once they were all done, they made their way to the throne room. They all resumed their seats from the day before.

“I’ll read.” Will offered. He picked up the book from the middle of the room and once he was seated, began reading.

**I Break a Few Rocket Ships**

“You’re going to break the museum exhibits?” Athena asked in annoyance.

“Not on purpose.” Percy shrugged. “Things happen when there are monsters around. Besides, I didn't actually break all of them.”

"Just most of them." Grover laughed. Percy stuck his tongue out at his best friend. 

**I tore across the...holiday school trips.**

“That is one good thing. Less mortals to get caught in the crossfire.” Hestia said.

“Why were you guys even in the museum?” Piper asked.

“We were trying to pick up Artemis’ trail and Grover’s tracking spell had told us to go to the nearby area. It seemed as good a place as any to start looking for clues.” Thalia shrugged.

**I wanted to yell...get me arrested.**

“Probably.” Triton nodded. “Given your luck with mortal authorities.”

**I had to find Thalia...Apollo space capsule.**

Zeus glared at Percy.

“Yeah, thanks for that.” Thalia said grumpily.

“Hey, would you rather I hadn’t warned you?” Percy asked with a grin.

“No. I just wish you could have warned us without running into me.” 

“Picky, picky.”

**Grover yelped in...show thy face here?"**

“Maybe he’s just on a trip.” Rachel suggested with a laugh.

**"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."**

“At least someone was pleased to see me.” Percy sighed.

“Given what happened in the summer I’m honestly surprised you didn’t expect this, Thalia.” Annabeth told her friend.

“I was more annoyed about being knocked over than him actually being there.” Thalia shrugged.

**Zoe glared at him...supposed to be here!"**

Everybody chuckled.

**"Luke," I said...impossible! You lie."**

“Why would he lie?” Connor rolled his eyes in exasperation. 

**"Why would I lie?**

“Aw, you think like Percy.” Travis told his brother.

“Could be worse.” Connor shrugged.

“Thanks. I think.” Percy said with a frown. Connor smirked.

**Look, there's no time...found anything yet."**

Artemis frowned. She wondered why the monster’s scent led there. If it was indeed the Ophiotauros, as she strongly suspected, then it would be found in water not on land.

**"Zoe," Bianca said...some other illusion."**

“I’m pretty sure Percy can tell the difference.” Travis scoffed.

“Anyone could tell the difference.” Clarisse corrected.

**"Illusions don't crack marble floors," I told her.**

“There’s that too.” Annabeth nodded.

**Zoe took a deep breath...We must leave now."**

“Where is this other monster?” Ares wanted to know. He wanted more action. “Atlas said he had sent it on ahead of the skeletons.”

“Let’s hope they don’t find out.” Hermes muttered. 

**"Good idea," I said...thy decision!" Zoe snapped.**

“It’s not Zoe’s either even if it is her quest. The prophecy said five would go and so five will, like it or not.” Apollo stated.

**Thalia scowled...conceited little brat!"**

Artemis frowned at her Lieutenant as Thalia grimaced.

“You tell her Thalia.” Connor cheered. Nico looked like he wanted to do the same.

**"You never had...leave them behind!"**

“That’s not a bad thing. Thalia doesn’t abandon her friends just because they are male.” Annabeth scowled. She felt bad that Zoe had died but her attitude was just so annoying.

**Thalia looked like...with delight: "Kitty!"**

“I can’t believe they saw a nice kitty.” Percy grumbled.

**Something enormous...golden glittering fur.**

“That’s the Nemean Lion.” Poseidon said weakly. Zeus tapped his fingers on the edge of his couch, trying to hide his own worry.

“Yep.” Percy nodded.

  
“Not good. Your weapons won’t do anything to it.” Apollo frowned, biting his lip in concern.

**I'd seen this monster..."Until when?" Grover asked.**

“Good question.” Will muttered.

**"Until I think of...off the back.**

“See, it wasn’t all my fault that stuff broke.” Percy pointed out.

“For once.” Grover laughed.

**Grover played a frantic...going to pounce.**

Zeus increased his finger tapping rhythm. He reminded himself that his daughter was fine and sitting right there.

**"Hey!" I yelled...from my friends.**

“Don’t get yourself killed saving them!” Triton yelped. Percy looked at him in surprise.

“I was fine.” He assured his half brother.

“Percy turn monster into dust.” Tyson said confidently.

**I slashed with...three stories below.**

“That’s a long fall.” Reyna muttered. “Without water below to fall into.”

“Still wouldn’t be my worst fall, I don’t think.” Percy shrugged. Then he regretted it seeing as that comment did nothing to calm anyone down.

**An arrow whizzed...Its mouth, I thought.**

“Good spot.” Poseidon praised his son.

“Yeah, thank the Gods Percy was there.” Thalia said. “Although I obviously would have come up with that idea myself.”

“There is no way  _ anyone _ would have come up with Percy’s idea.” Grover stated.

“True.” Thalia nodded. “But I meant the part where its mouth was its weakness.”

**Its fur was completely..."Target the mouth!"**

“Yes. My Hunters have the best chance of killing it.” Artemis nodded.

**The monster lunged...model earth's North Pole.**

“While it’s kind of scary, picturing a big lion jumping around on those exhibits is hilarious.” Rachel snickered.

“I’m impressed they can support its weight at all.” Annabeth stated.

**"Grover!" I yelled...its mouth more!"**

“Oh yes, I’m sure it’ll do that if you just ask nicely.” Chris muttered sarcastically.

“It’ll open its mouth right before it tries to eat them.” Clarisse offered innocently.

“Yeah, we’d rather not get that close to it.” Thalia glared at the daughter of Ares who shrugged.

**The lion snarled from...sold that stuff…**

“Another crazy Percy idea.” Leo grinned wildly. He loved Percy’s ideas. 

**"Thalia," I said...Zoe yelled.**

“Exactly.” Zeus grumbled. 

“Oh yes, my mistake. I thought it was the perfect time to go shopping.” Percy rolled his eyes.

**I dashed into the...glittery silver packets.**

“What on Olympus are you thinking?” Annabeth asked.

“That stuff was disgusting.” Percy told her. “I figured the lion would think so too.”

“You’re insane.” 

“It worked.”

**Whole racks of them...slid to the floor.**

“No.” Zeus growled.

“I was fine. I have a thick skull.” Thalia told her father.

“You best hurry up, boy.” The God scowled at Percy.

“Hey I wasn’t supposed to even be there. They could have had to deal with that thing without me.” Percy pointed out.

“We would have been screwed.” Grover said.

**"Hey!" I yelled at...I charged,**

“Why do all of your plans seem to involve charging at the large monster that could kill you easily?” Poseidon groaned.

“It’s generally the only way to get close enough to kill them. Besides, it gives me the element of surprise.” Percy explained.

**and as the lion...strawberry parfait.**

“Oh! That’s what you were getting. Yeah that stuff is gross.” Piper wrinkled her nose.

“Even I couldn’t eat it.” Percy nodded.

“Wow. That must be pretty bad.” Rachel laughed.

“Yeah, I thought Percy would eat anything.” Will smirked.

“Almost anything.” Percy corrected.

**The lion's eyes...just plain nasty.**

“Could also be the packaging getting stuck in its throat.” Annabeth pointed out.

“Does it really matter? The creature doesn’t like it.” Beckendorf rolled his eyes. “Nice plan.” He told Percy.

**"Zoe, get ready!"...horrible song on his pipes.**

Grover sighed but couldn’t be bothered to continue to defend his music. His friends just couldn’t appreciate good music.

**I scrambled away...away from me.**

“You scared a monster away with space food?” Reyna looked at Percy in bemusement.

“Whatever works.” Percy grinned.

“Grover was right.” Jason said. “Nobody else would ever have come up with that plan.” 

**"Now!" I yelled...a little dazed.**

Zeus let out a sigh of relief.

**Zoe and Bianca...an interesting strategy."**

“You should probably get used to that.” Apollo laughed.

**"Hey, it worked."...Zoe told me.**

“But Zoe and Bianca killed it.” Ares frowned. Why would they give away such an awesome spoil of war?

“It was Percy’s plan.” Artemis pointed out. She also privately suspected that Zoe would not want that particular spoil of war given who had owned it previously.

**I stared at her...violation or something?"**

“No.” Annabeth gave him a weird look.

**"It is a spoil of war,"...sandwich did that.**

“That’s not a sentence you hear everyday.” Gwen chuckled.

“Death by ice cream sandwich.” Dakota snorted in amusement. Artemis smiled. It seemed that Percy had won some respect in Zoe’s eyes. That was a very difficult thing to do. Although that stunt was not something a typical hero would do. It made Percy stand out as different to most heroes which would endear him to Zoe.

**Fair is fair, Percy Jackson...exactly my style," I murmured.**

“Definitely preferred the Golden Fleece.” Percy muttered.

**"We have to get...last a few seconds."**

“Does it confuse them or just make them want to get away from you?” Thalia asked in a teasing voice.

“You’re so mean.” Grover stuck his tongue out.

“That was well done.” Chiron told Grover proudly. 

**"The security guards...I'll distract them."**

“No!” Poseidon and Triton said immediately. “There is no way you would be able to escape them.”

“Nor will the rest of the group if he goes with them. It’s safer if he heads off to distract them while the others complete the quest.” Zeus pointed out. He did not want his daughter put in danger because of the sea brat.

  
“They are only after Percy because he prevented them from getting the scent of the Hunters.” Poseidon scowled at his brother. “He is part of that quest now.”

**"No," Zoe said...anyone behind."**

Artemis smiled proudly at Zoe’s words. 

“That’s the end of the chapter.” Will told the room. “That was pretty short.” 

“A lot of them have been quite short recently.” Nico noticed. That meant they were getting through this book quite quickly which he was not ready for.

“My turn then.” Hazel said quietly. Will gave her the book and she began reading.


	11. Grover Gets a Lamborghini

“Why does Grover have a Lamborghini? I didn’t think he could drive.” Annabeth frowned.

“He wasn’t really driving it. You’ll see.” Percy told her. She folded her arms and gave him an annoyed look. Percy smirked at her.

**We were crossing...straight toward us.**

“Wonderful. You’re not going to lose that easily.” Hermes said.

“We managed.” Thalia told him.

**"They know the...one of theirs," I said.**

“Most likely.” Chiron nodded. 

“I know the Mist works to make sure mortals don’t see our world but it really seems to work against us most of the time.” Percy complained.

“It works against  _ you _ most of the time.” Will corrected with a laugh.

**"How can the...more horrible than monsters."**

Rachel sighed but she couldn’t really argue with that. At least Zoe hadn’t applied that to all mortals.

**The helicopter kept...about now. Please?"**

“Na. That would only happen if Percy was in the helicopter.” Nico sighed.

**But the sky stayed..."That parking lot!"**

“A parking lot? Won’t that get you trapped?” Clarisse asked with a confused frown.

“Bianca had a plan.” Percy smiled.

**"We'll be trapped,"...didn't come after us.**

“Good.” Hades gave a stiff nod of approval. 

  
“Very handy.” Leo smiled.

**Grover let out a...was no subway."**

“What?” Dakota frowned.

“Bianca and I were born in the 1930s.” Nico reminded him.

“When’s your birthday?” Will asked suddenly.

“January 28th.” Nico told him, giving him a look of surprise. When’s yours?” 

“May 23rd.” Will admits.

**Thalia sat forward...twelve years old.**

“It’s definitely not.” Annabeth told him. She opened her mouth, probably to state exactly how old the subway is, when Hazel kept reading.

**I guess everyone...we lost the helicopter.**

“Ok. That’s good. Hopefully moving around so much will delay the skeleton things too.” Reyna said.

“Let’s not get too hopeful.” Dakota told her wryly.

**Unfortunately, when we...Grover complained.**

“Really, Grover?” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly.

**"Feet," I corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.**

“Probably a bit late for that.” Connor snickered.

“At least Grover still had his fake feet on. The guy might just think they are insane.” Travis pointed out.

“He wouldn’t be wrong.” Chris smirked. “Besides, I have a suspicion that homeless dude is not just a regular mortal.” 

“Why?”

“Oh come on. He just happens to be there when they have reached a dead end?” Chris asked. The Gods all perked up and this wondering which of them it would be. Most of them turned to look at Apollo who was the most likely of the male Gods to interfere. Zeus was scowling and grumbling under his breath.

**"Maybe we should...this quest ourselves."**

“Camp is too far away to help anyway.” Beckendorf pointed out.

**I gazed miserably...train going west?"**

“Definitely a God.” Rachel nodded.

**"Yes, sir," I said...SUN WEST LINE.**

“Apollo!” Zeus yelled. “What part of non interference do you not understand?” 

“They are going to rescue my sister. Of course I’m going to help.” Apollo shot back defiantly. “Besides, it means I helped out your daughter too.” Zeus continued glaring but made no further argument.

“Thanks Apollo.” Percy grinned. 

“Anytime.” The Sun God winked at him and Percy felt his face go a little red. Then he saw Apollo smirking which made him go even redder so he looked away. 

**"That's… convenient,"...stations from D.C.**

“That’s a much nicer ride than the one Lord Mar...Ares got for them on Percy’s first quest.” Dakota noted.

“I should hope so.” Apollo stated, looking offended. 

**"Join you?" I asked...my mom liked.**

“So you do have some taste in music.” Thalia mused looking a little surprised. 

**She said it reminded...you one-on-one."**

Zeus glowered at the book while Hera pursed her lips in annoyance. It seemed these book readings were getting to her husband. While he had always cared about his children, he had never really shown it, especially in front of her. If he was willing to risk her wrath by showing how much he cared for the little brat then that was not a good sign. Hera knew she had to do something. Hopefully one of these books would tell them about the girl dying, preferably in a painful manner, and then that would be that. She would simply have to make sure that those events happened.

**"He said that?"...used as bait."**

“Who doesn’t.” Jason said sarcastically. 

“Me.” Leo told him.

  
“He was being sarcastic.” Piper rolled her eyes.

**"No idea what...you wouldn't believe."**

The Romans all frowned. It still struck them how unfair the Camp placements were. While their camp seemingly had much better protections, and was a lot bigger, that seemed to be partly out of necessity. They were in a much more dangerous place than the Greeks and Reyna definitely wanted to know why. 

**"What's the Mountain...She's the expert."**

Thalia winced at that. 

**She glared out the...my mouth shut.**

“You don’t seem to mind when Annabeth knows more than you.” Thalia frowned.

  
“Yeah but that’s expected because of her mom. Plus she’s marginally less likely to completely rub it in my face than you are. Though it’s a close run thing.” Percy grinned. 

**The afternoon sun...along with Zoe."**

“You and your stupid unantural abilities.” Thalia grumbled. 

“In all fairness, it wasn’t a hard guess.” Jason told his sister with a laugh.

“This might not be but he figured out more about me in about a week than pretty much anyone else had in my entire life.” She complained.

“Hey, you were willing to tell me. Eventually.” Percy reminded her.

“Yeah but only because you have some creepy power.”

“No I don’t. How would I even get such a power?” 

“I don’t know but it can’t be natural.” Thalia scowled. Percy just rolled his eyes and let it go.

**Thalia frowned. "What?"...to leave Luke."**

Zeus’ eyes widened marginally and then he scowled angrily. He had thought his daughter was just friends with the traitor but she  _ liked _ him as more than friends. He must also be why she joined the Hunters. Then he recalled his conversation with his daughter where she had given Luke’s name as a reason for joining the Hunters. He would make sure that boy was never born!

**"Oh."...me down someday."**

Thalia glowered at anyone who looked like they were about to open their mouth. She did  _ not _ want to hear people saying that Zoe was right. Of course, Zoe had been right, but that did not mean she had to hear it. 

“Thalia…” Jason began.

“Read.” She barked at Hazel who jumped and quickly began reading. Thalia felt a bit bad for scaring the poor girl but she did not want Jason to finish that sentence. Frank glared at Thalia for her tone of voice and put an arm around Hazel as she read.

**I watched the sun...me down. Never."**

“Maybe not while you were alive.” Jason said slowly and quietly. “But he did let you down.” Thalia glared at him.

“I know.” She spat.

  
“I’m sorry he sucks. But you have other friends. Annabeth would never let you down. Or Percy.” He reached out to squeeze her arm. “I wouldn’t either.” Thankfully her face softened at that.

“I know you wouldn’t, Jay.” He nodded and then said nothing more.

**"We'll have to...what I have to."**

“Of course you will.” Zeus said proudly. His daughter would definitely cut down that traitor. Thalia grimaced.

“You did do everything you could.” Annabeth whispered to her friend.

  
“I know but...this was the first and last time I saw him before…” Thalia trailed off unable to vocalise that he was no longer Luke. Not really anyway.

“Honestly, maybe it’s better that way. Seeing him just hurts more. Trust me.” Annabeth sighed. She still sort of regretted not going with Luke when he had asked her. Maybe she could have stopped him becoming a host for Kronos. Thalia nodded. Hearing about the times Annabeth had met Luke during their quest last summer were more painful than just knowing he was out there being evil.

**"Even if that...out of my car."**

“I can’t believe you pushed it that far and she didn’t blast you.” Will told Percy.

“Knowing something and seeing it are two different things. I didn’t want her unprepared.”

“Nothing can prepare you for seeing someone you cared about betraying you. Being willing to kill you.” Annabeth told him flatly. “But I get your point.” 

**I felt so bad for...think about why."**

“Was that really necessary?” Annabeth asked her friend.

“Yes.” Thalia replied. “Although I see it didn’t do much good.” Annabeth went a little red.

**Before I could...Lexus's air conditioner.**

All the Greek campers burst out laughing at this as Grover went very red.

“You weren’t going to impress anyone with your music back then Grover.” Thalia told her friend. “Especially if you do that.” 

“I didn’t mean to.” He protested. “I just got a little carried away.” 

**As I watched the...over by a truck.**

“Hey!” Apollo protested.

“Urgh.” Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Was that disguise really necessary, Apollo?” She asked.

“Given that we aren’t supposed to help on quests, probably.”

“Oh yes, because father won’t know it’s you if you look like a homeless mortal.” Hermes scoffed.

“Of course not. I’m usually so good looking, this disguise would throw anyone off.” Apollo said proudly.

“I don’t know. That description sounds just like you brother.” Artemis smirked. 

“That is not true!” Apollo glared at her. “I’m gorgeous and very  _ very _ handsome.”

“If you say so.” She said, voice full of disbelief. 

“I am, aren’t I?” He turned to look at Percy, hiding a grin. The son of the Sea God looked rather stunned by being asked this and incredibly awkward. His face was the colour of a tomato which made Apollo smirk happily.

“Er...you usually look better than a homeless guy, yeah.” He agreed. Apollo pouted. “Hey, you already think you’re hot, you don’t need my opinion.” He added, seeing the pout. “Go ask a mirror.” A few people chuckled at that while Will hid his face in his hands at his dad’s antics. 

“But I want your opinion.” Apollo told him. He lowered his voice so the rest of the room wouldn’t be able to hear except those on the bench. Percy bit back a groan even though he secretly liked Apollo’s teasing. 

“Fine. Yes, you’re sort of handsome.” He said grudgingly.

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?” 

“What do you think?” Percy rolled his eyes. Apollo pouted once more but let the matter drop for now. Hazel decided to start reading again.

**"If it weren't for dreams,"...than Olympus tabloids."**

“That is true.” Apollo nodded.

**He cleared his throat...a haiku that bad.**

“Hey!” Apollo pouted once more.

  
“It’s not your best work.” Will told his dad.

“You said that about my limericks.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t really done your best stuff for a while.” Will admitted with a resigned sigh. “Haikus and Limericks are not really...they aren’t great. Your older stuff is definitely better.” 

**He put his finger...major is wrong.**

“A rule nobody seems to follow anymore.” Zeus said angrily.

“Well these are strange times and frankly, each of these quests have been incredibly important. Not just to our children but in preventing father from rising.” Poseidon pointed out. Zeus continued to grumble about how nobody listened to him these days but nobody paid any attention.

**But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."**

Artemis rolled her eyes but didn’t scold him. Apollo was helping her Hunters so she wouldn’t complain. Besides, he had every right to be worried considering the mess she had gotten into.

**"Can you help...America, at least."**

“Thank you.” Athena and Artemis both smiled gratefully at Apollo.

“Of course.” He said happily. 

**"But where is Artemis?"...I don't know."**

“Feeling the love.” Annabeth said dryly.

“In all fairness, Artemis being missing was probably far more important to the Gods. Or at least the ones who cared.” Thalia pointed out. “Plus the quest was officially for Artemis. We were lucky you were held in the same place.” 

**I tried not to feel...compared to the gods.**

“Oh so when Apollo says something like that you totally understand. When it’s Artemis or Mr D you blow a gasket.” Beckendorf laughed. Apollo considered this. It was true. He recalled how close Percy had come to getting himself blasted by Dionysus but he took Apollo’s own dismissal of Annabeth pretty well. He took that as a good sign. There had been lots of good signs lately and it gave him hope that his plan to charm Percy would work.

“I hadn’t really thought about that. Plus, Apollo was the only one who had been actually helping us. Even if it was for Lady Artemis not Annabeth, he  _ was  _ helping. So I didn’t want to risk upsetting him and make him stop helping.” Percy tried to explain. Honestly he had no idea why he had reacted like that. This didn’t stop Apollo smiling. He could tell Percy was lying, or at least making excuses. He hadn’t been thinking about that explanation at the time.

**"What about the...Man of the Sea.**

“Yes, he would know.” Athena nodded. 

**He has a long...prophecy means?"**

“Afraid not.” Apollo said regretfully.

**Apollo sighed...you don't know."**

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Percy laughed.

**Apollo checked his...you again, Percy,**

“You’ve done more than enough.” Zeus grumbled.

  
“I barely did anything. I gave them a ride and made it go a bit quicker.” Apollo shrugged. “They were on a deadline.” 

**but remember...closing my eyes.**

“Thanks for that. I would never have gotten to sleep otherwise.” Percy smiled.

  
“You’re welcome.” The God grinned back.

**In my dream, I was... gripping my hand.**

Artemis inhaled sharply. She had a strong suspicion what the boy was about to see. It certainly explained how he knew about Zoe’s dislike of Heracles without her telling him.

**"Hurry!" she said...I'd ever felt before.**

Artemis nodded while Thalia looked over at Percy. They had a silent conversation as she realised what he was about to see.

**"There is no need...cared about me.**

“Of course she did.” Artemis spat angrily. 

**"I don't trust your father," I said.**

“Nobody should.” Thalia muttered.

“You’d think that was fairly obvious.” Percy agreed.

“What’s going on?” Leo asked.

“It will probably explain.” Percy told him.

**"You should not,"...would disown me."**

“Not that he cared in the slightest.” Thalia grumbled.

**"Then there's nothing...My immortal power."**

“She gave him her immortal powers?” Thalia asked sharply.

“That’s what she said.” Percy shrugged. 

“But...Riptide.” She mouthed the last word at him so people wouldn’t catch on too quickly and Percy’s eyes widened. Was there more to Riptide than he had first thought?

**The girl breathed on...pretty one?"**

“It’s not just a hairpin you idiot.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. She had worked out what was going on and knew what moment this was. Percy had confided in her about the full story of Riptide’s past with Zoe and Hercules once they were back at Camp.

**"It may not,"...the girl said sadly.**

“Riptide?” Clarisse looked over at Percy. 

“Like Chiron said, it had a long and tragic history.” Percy gave a sad smile. 

**"The current that...between two peaks.**

“How far did you get?” Nico asked.

“New Mexico.” Grover told him.

“That’s pretty good.” Will said.

**I fished my pen out...was Zoe Nightshade.**

“So your sword was once a hairpin and belonged to Zoe?” Jason summed up in surprise. Percy nodded.

“So who did she give it too?” Piper asked.

“Heracles.” Will stated.

“How do you know that?” Nico asked in surprise.

“Percy said he was stronger than he had ever felt and had the Nemean Lion skin. Given that he was also dressed like an ancient hero there was only one choice.” 

“So Zoe helped Hercules by giving her a hairpin with her power in it and I’m guessing he screwed her over given how much she hates men.” Beckendorf summed up. Zeus glared at him. His son wouldn’t do that. He was a true hero.

“Chapter’s done.” Hazel announced, very glad it was over.

“My turn.” Frank gave her a smile. 


	12. I Go Snowboarding With A Pig

“Of course you do.” Travis laughed.

  
  
“Who doesn’t?” Leo asked with a grin.

“Sensible people.” Piper told him. Thalia suddenly grimaced. She remembered this bit and she recalled that this was when Percy had realised she was scared of heights. She had to bite back a groan. This was not going to be a good chapter. And shortly after this Bianca had died. Thalia resigned herself to a miserable couple of hours coming up. 

**We'd arrived on..."That's good, I guess.**

“It is good. Now you have an idea where to get some answers.” Jason said.

“Yeah but they still have to make it to San Francisco.” Reyna pointed out. He nodded.

**But we've got...the winter solstice.**

“So both deadlines are the same.” Dakota said. 

“Yeah but if they had taken Annabeth somewhere else, away from where Artemis was, we would have absolutely no time to find her.” Thalia told him. He nodded.

**That was Friday...sound of that at all.**

“Me neither.” Annabeth laughed.

“I’d be worried if you did.” Piper told her with a chuckle.

**We stopped in the...No way out."**

“Well that’s not good. You’ve taken them from one dead end to another.” Hades snapped as he glared at Apollo.

“Well that dead end is a lot closer to their destination than the previous one.” He shrugged. “If I helped any more, father would definitely find out.” 

**"There's a coffee..."And wax paper."**

“Coffee and pastries yes, wax paper, no.” Rachel said.

“Agreed.” Will said.

“I hate coffee.” Beckendorf admitted, wrinkling his nose.

“How can you hate coffee?” Rachel looked at him, appalled. “How do you  _ survive  _ without coffee?” 

“Easily.” He told her with a shrug.

**Thalia sighed...for a dollar each,**

“ _ Rats _ ?” George’s hissing voice came from Hermes’ pocket.

  
“Fake rats. Go back to sleep.” Hermes told him.

“ _ Who makes fake ratsss? What isss the point?” _ George huffed indignantly.

“Mortals are weird. Go back to sleep.” Hermes said, a little more forcefully this time. There was some disgruntled hissing but George said no more.

**and there was...hundred dollars."**

“Why is the nearest taxi place an hour away? Why would anybody go to this town?” Silena asked in bemusement.

“They wouldn’t if they had a choice I guess.” Gwen shrugged.

**The clerk looked so lonely, I bought a rubber rat.**

“That was nice of you.” Apollo smiled.

**Then we headed...checking anyway."**

“Better safe than sorry I guess.” Jason said.

“I just needed to do something.” Thalia told him. “I hate sitting doing nothing.” Most of the demigods nodded in agreement.

**I let her go. I knew...last night about Luke.**

“There was that too.” Thalia sighed. 

**Bianca and I stood...she said at last.**

“Always a good ice breaker.” Leo nodded knowingly.

“She could have been like Nico, asking fifty million questions.” Will snickered.

  
“I guess Zoe would have explained all the important bits. Plus she was probably feeling as awkward as I was.” Percy shrugged.

**I set it on the...for the store.**

“Yes, who wouldn’t want to go to a store with a rubber rat outside it?” Clarisse asked sarcastically.

“At least it’s something interesting?” Chris offered weakly.

**"So… how do...joining, are you?"**

“I wasn’t mad about her joining really. I was mad about her leaving Nico.” Percy muttered. He still couldn’t understand her decision to join the Hunters without even mentioning it to her brother until afterwards.

Nico smiled at that, grateful for Percy’s protectiveness. However he also reflected that it did not affect him the way it would have done when they first arrived. If he had heard that then he would have exploded from happiness. Now that honour seemed to have fallen to the cute doctor sitting next to him. He still cared for Percy, and always would, but now he felt like more of a big brother. Of course, reading this, Nico realised Percy had always acted in a brotherly fashion towards him. During this reading the mysteriousness of Percy had been stripped away and Nico had seen that he was just another person. A very powerful person, sure, but his crush had been on an idea and not the real Percy. Will on the other hand, Nico felt his stomach tighten and his heart skip a beat whenever the son of Apollo so much as smiled at him. However he had no idea if his feelings would be returned and had absolutely no intention of asking, in case he ruined a pretty awesome friendship.

Will watched as a series of emotions ran across Nico’s face and he could just tell he was thinking about Percy Jackson. He sighed in frustration. Nico’s crush on the older boy was fairly obvious and Will had no idea how he could compete with Percy for Nico’s affections. And Percy wasn’t even competing knowingly! Will could tell he didn’t reciprocate Nico’s feelings in the same way. He just had to keep doing what he was doing and maybe speak to the son of Hades on a break.

**"Nah. Long as...that's the immortality."**

“Yeah. That does take some getting used to.” Thalia nodded.

**I stared at her...she did today.**

Nico, Hades and Percy all grimaced. Hades did not appreciate the reminder of what his daughter had lost. 

**She might be...Bianca murmured.**

“I can’t imagine why.” Will said sarcastically.

“I do get it now. I wish she had dealt with it differently but I do sort of understand her choice.” Nico told the son of Apollo. This wasn’t entirely true, he would never fully understand why Bianca had been so willing to leave him for the Hunters but he was at least more at peace with her choice than he had been.

Will looked at him sceptically but didn’t pull him up on it.

**She looked at me...that for Annabeth."**

Annabeth smiled while Hades sent a grateful look at his nephew, making sure the demigod couldn’t see him. His daughter did not need to spend her last moments alive feeling extra guilty about something she could no longer change.

**Bianca nodded...a friend like you."**

“I am.” Annabeth agreed. Percy just shrugged.

**"Lot of good it did her."**

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault. Having Thalia as my friend didn’t stop me getting captured either.” She pointed out.

“Besides, you were the only one really fighting about finding Annabeth. Everyone else was completely focused on finding Lady Artemis. Obviously that’s important but even Grover was temporarily more focused on that.” Rachel reminded him. Grover blushed at the reminder. Percy did feel a little better at that.

**"Don't blame yourself Percy...Nico at the camp.**

“What?” Nico looked at Percy in surprise. 

“Yeah. I forgot she said that.” He looked just as surprised as Nico. He really hoped that Nico didn’t blame him for Bianca leaving him to join the Hunters.

“I’m not surprised. I thought you were an all powerful hero too.” Nico admitted with a shrug. Honestly the confession made him feel better. Bianca had at least considered his safety at some point. 

**I figured if there...in capture the flag?"**

Everyone burst out laughing at this.

“I don’t think knocking someone over in a game makes you a bad guy.” Reyna said through her laughter.

**She laughed...talking to Bianca.**

Hades raised an eyebrow. As did Artemis.

“Bianca was just a lot easier to talk to than both Zoe and Thalia.” Percy defended himself before anyone could comment. 

**She wasn't so bad...parents were dead.**

Hades glowered at Zeus. Maria shouldn’t have died. 

**There was a bank...for a few weeks.**

“I’m glad it wasn’t just a few weeks. Or you’d never have met me.” Will told Nico quietly.

  
“And wouldn’t that be a shame.” Nico said sarcastically.

“Yes.” Will nodded solemnly.

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Don’t lie. You think I’m great.” 

“Whatever.” Nico tried to act casual but he could feel his cheeks heating up. Honestly, he was glad he had been in that hotel for years. He was glad to have met Percy and Will in particular. But also Hazel.

**And then… I don't know...hours a day."**

Nico grimaced. 

**I thought about...Were you eavesdropping?"**

“That was your brother.” Connor laughed.

“And Percy.” Chris corrected. “He was just a little late.” 

**"No! I mean...wildflowers and sunshine.**

Grover smiled sadly. 

“Do not tell me someone else is interfering on this quest.” Zeus scowled. Percy had to stop himself laughing. He knew Zeus himself actually interfered later on, although Athena was first. 

**And something else...real whiskers.**

“What?” Leo looked confused. He wasn’t the only one.

“What the heck is going on?” Travis wondered.

“It’ll explain in a second.” Percy told him.

**Grover collapsed...skeleton warriors appeared.**

“That’s not good.” Hades groaned.

“How did they catch you guys so fast? Lord Apollo even made that train go extra fast.” Rachel wondered.

“No idea. Didn’t stick around to ask them.” Thalia said. 

“Fair enough.” Rachel nodded.

**They stepped from...theirs at me.**

“Move.” Poseidon snapped tensely. 

**Thalia tapped her...leaning against her.**

“Better her than Zoe. Zoe’s had more practise fighting.” Clarisse said.

“Yeah but Bianca is the only one who can kill those things. Even if she doesn’t know that yet.” Percy reminded her.

**"Back up," Thalia said...full party on our hands.**

“Four is quite enough.” Triton muttered anxiously.

“It’s more than enough.” Beckendorf stated.

**"It's near,"...gift from the Wild."**

“What?” Hermes perked up excitedly. Dionysus was also very interested although he hid it a lot better. “Do you mean a gift from Pan?” 

“Er…” Percy glanced at Grover who shrugged. “Yeah.” 

“So he  _ is _ alive.” Hermes beamed happily. This was the best news he had had in ages. Since before these stupid books began. Percy just nodded, not wanting to give anything else away. Hermes continued grinning away. Maybe they would finally find his son and learn why he had gone into hiding so long ago. If he had sent a gift of the Wild to Grover and made his presence known, it seemed as if he was the Satyr Pan had personally chosen to find him. He looked at the Satyr, trying to determine whether he had found Pan yet or not but Grover had a surprisingly good poker face. Oh well. His son was alive. He could cope with waiting a bit longer to find out anything else.

**I didn't know what...And I charged.**

“Percy!” Poseidon groaned loudly. “Why do you do this?” 

“We weren’t getting out of there without a fight. Plus they had the advantage at a distance as they had guns.” Percy shrugged.

**The first skeleton fired...and kept charging.**

“What the hell?” Rachel gaped at Percy in shock. Apollo and Poseidon both gasped as everyone turned to look at Percy in astonishment. He shrunk back under all the attention.

“How did you deflect a bullet? How did you even sort of see it? It was in the air. Thalia I could possibly understand...but you?” Annabeth looked so confused.

“I have no idea.” Percy said desperately. “It just happened.” 

“That’s as impressive as slashing Hunter arrows out of the air.” Thalia told him. “I wish I had seen you do that.” 

“You are very powerful.” Triton stated. He was also confused about how his half brother was able to achieve these feats but it impressed him regardless. 

“That is so cool.” Beckendorf stated. 

“I’ve never seen a demigod with natural reflexes as good as Percy’s.” Chiron admitted. Privately he now wondered if Riptide didn’t have something to do with it. Zoe had said in his dream she put some of her immortal power into her gift to Heracles. Maybe Percy was able to tap into that power unconsciously, especially as it was made by Zoe’s mother who was an Oceanid. Riptide drew its power from the ocean but maybe it also drew a little from Zoe’s immortality. It would certainly explain how Percy seemed to get extra power from seemingly nowhere. Obviously Percy had an incredible amount of natural talent to go with it, there was no denying that, but it would explain a lot too.

Percy looked desperately at Frank, pleading with him to keep reading. He didn’t want to dwell on his weird powers any longer. Especially as Zeus was looking rather upset at this news.

**The skeleton drew a...me in the back.**

“WHAT?” Several people all screamed at once. Chiron watched Percy as if he might drop dead at any moment. This was yet another time the boy could have, and probably should have, died and he had no idea. He knew quests were dangerous but Percy’s were something else. Reading about his charges going on quests was going to be the death of him. He certainly had no idea how Poseidon was coping with this.

“You got shot?” Poseidon asked his son, his voice went quite high pitched, while Apollo couldn’t resist checking him for injuries this time. Percy went red as the God carefully looked him over, gently feeling for any bruises.

“I’m fine.” He told Apollo while wondering if it were possible to die from embarrassment.

“How did you survive?” Will asked him.

“He has the lion skin.” Annabeth realised. At this revelation, everybody relaxed slightly. 

“Percy your luck is ridiculous.” Rachel stated. 

“I know.” He shrugged.

**"Percy!" Thalia screamed...I wasn't dead.**

“Always a good realisation.” Leo said, trying to lighten the mood. A few people gave him small smiles for the attempt but remained quite tense.

**The impact of the...like he wanted to hug them.**

“Could do with some bad music right about now.” Connor muttered.

**There was a crashing...a police badge.**

“One down, eleven to go.” Hades said grimly.

“Better odds than they had a minute ago.” Persephone told him, trying to keep his spirits up. She knew the book wasn’t going to get any easier from here. She knew how much her husband had mourned the mortal woman, and the lengths he had gone to to keep the children safe. It made her sad to know that after all of that, his daughter would die so soon after coming out from hiding and gaining immortality. It seemed like Fate was against her husband’s family. 

**"How did you...wary of her now.**

“That’s something at least.” Jason said.

“I wonder why her knife worked but her arrows didn’t? She’s still a daughter of Hades even if she’s shooting.” Beckendorf frowned.

“She’s still new to her powers and being a Hunter of Artemis will have dulled her demigod side as well.” Hades said. “Given how hard those skeletons are to kill, I suspect she would have needed to be very close to them to have an effect. As in touching the weapon that killed them. So if she stabbed one with an arrow then it would work but shooting will not.”

**They pressed us...were wild and angry.**

“Don’t tell me that’s supposed to be a gift?” Silena asked in disgust.

“It is a gift from the  _ Wild _ .” Grover reminded her.

“Yeah but still…That’s gross.” 

“It was pretty gross.” Percy agreed.

**"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed...twirling everywhere.**

“Nice. Hopefully that’ll slow them down a bit while they reform.” Frank nodded. 

“Yes. Now would be the time to get out of there.” Reyna agreed.

“If they can keep up with a train, I don’t think they can outrun them.” Hazel pointed out.

“No but the boar probably can.” Clarisse grinned.

**Then the pig turned on...we can kill it."**

“That would not be a good idea.” Dionysus stated.

**"It's a gift," Grover said...feel blessed!" I said.**

There was a round of sniggering at this. Grover rolled his eyes at his best friend.

**"Scatter!"...a blessing?" Bianca asked.**

“Good question.” Leo muttered.

“It can be a blessing if you approach things correctly.” Athena stated.

**It seemed a fair...and charged her.**

Hades held his breath. He was not ready to hear this. Persephone gripped his hand tightly. Nico glanced over at Percy who shook his head slightly. He would not forget his promise to warn Nico ahead of time.

**She was faster than...behind the beast.**

Hades let out a sigh of relief only to realise that still meant the worst was to come. He was starting to hate these stupid books.

**It lashed out with...giant wild boar attacks.**

Now everybody burst out laughing as most of the tension in the room broke.

“Somehow I doubt they are.” Connor managed to say through his laughter.

“Well clearly they should be.” Chris smirked.

“I’d love to see people’s faces if they saw that option on the insurance form.” Rachel giggled. 

**"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled...for bad luck.**

“Of course you did.” Triton groaned.

“Someone had to.” Percy grinned.

“But it’s always you. Let someone else win for a change.” Grover told his friend.

“In that situation that might well have been you.” Percy reminded him.

“Oh yeah. You can keep all the bad luck.” Grover told him with a laugh.

“Gee thanks.” 

**When the boar...one of his relatives.**

“What?” Annabeth looked at Percy in bemusement. “How does Medusa look anything like a boar?” 

“I don’t know. It’s ugly. Medusa is ugly.” He shrugged. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**The boar charged us...I had a crazy idea.**

“Of course you did.” Poseidon sighed as Thalia grimaced. She knew what was coming next. This was not going to be pretty. 

**"Follow me!"..."No!" Thalia screamed.**

“What now?” Zeus asked anxiously. 

“Don’t tell me the skeletons reformed already?” Nico asked. Nobody answered so Frank kept reading.

**She'd turned as...seventy feet below.**

Jason grimaced as he realised his sister’s problem. Glancing at Thalia now he realised she looked like she was going to be sick.

“You ok?” He asked quietly.

“Not really. I don’t…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m terrified of heights.”

“I know.” He admitted.

“What? How?” 

“We met you on the quest I just completed. I found out there.” 

“And you don’t…” Thalia was looking at him intently. “You’re ok with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re allowed to be afraid of stuff.” Jason shrugged.

“But I’m the daughter of Zeus and I’m afraid of heights!” She hissed. Piper and Annabeth both glanced over at them and Thalia winced.

“You can’t help what your afraid of.” Jason told her. Yeah it was weird but it wasn’t as if Thalia had asked for such a fear.

“What is dad gonna say?” 

“Who cares?” Jason shrugged. “If he doesn’t like it that’s his problem. It’s not your fault.”

“Thanks, Jay.” She took a deep breath and turned back to the reading.

**The boar was right...probably."**

“Comforting.” Annabeth said sarcastically.

“Next time, leave the ‘probably’ out.” Piper advised.

**"I can't!" Thalia yelled...was turning green.**

Zeus looked at his daughter in concern. What was wrong with her? She sounded terrified but clearly not of the pig. A thought struck him. She couldn’t be afraid of heights. Could she? No. That was ridiculous. A child of his couldn’t be afraid of heights. It must be something else.

**I didn't have time to...wasn't going anywhere, either.**

“Good job.” Apollo smiled.

**I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."**

Everyone turned to look at Thalia in amazement. She scowled furiously at everybody.

“But your dad is Zeus.” Leo stated, looking confused.

“Yes. And?” Thalia snapped defensively.

“Nothing.” He said hurriedly. Percy, Annabeth and Jason also began glaring at anyone who wouldn’t stop staring at Thalia. 

“You’re...afraid of heights?” Zeus asked slowly, like he couldn’t believe he was actually saying those words.

“Yes.” Thalia grimaced, not looking in his direction.

“But you can fly. You wouldn’t fall.” He frowned in confusion.

“Fears aren’t rational.” Hestia told her brother in a scolding tone. The poor girl looked upset enough as it was. She didn’t need her father giving her a hard time. 

“But...but…” Zeus simply could not wrap his head around the idea. How could his daughter be afraid of his domain? Well, of being in his domain. The idea was simply absurd. However he spotted the distressed look on his daughter’s face and decided to leave it for now. They could speak later. In private. His choice was made easier by the look Hestia was giving him. He may be in charge but nobody disobeyed Hestia. “Continue reading.” He told the Roman boy. He knew he had made the correct decision when Thalia’s expression crumpled into relief.

Beside him, his wife was scoffing and rolling her eyes. He squeezed her hand and gave her a warning look. He would not tolerate her saying something nasty to his daughter. She glared but nodded her assent. She knew this was a battle she would not win. Why could they not hurry up and get to the future so she could find out if the girl died or whether she would need to make some plans.

**Now that we were...to talk about it."**

“Oh yeah.” Apollo breathed. That made a lot more sense. He definitely would not be letting Thalia drive his chariot then.

**She took a deep..."If you tell anyone, I swear—"**

“Percy wouldn’t do that.” Annabeth said.

“I know that now but I wasn’t sure then. Most people at camp would never have let me live it down.” Thalia replied, scowling towards the Stolls who gave her identical innocent smiles.

**"No, no," I said...afraid of heights?"**

“That is pretty weird.” Chris muttered to Travis, making sure Thalia couldn’t hear him.

“Yep.” Travis agreed.

**She was about...with a Christmas tree.**

The room burst out laughing once more but it died pretty quickly given that Thalia still looked rather dangerous and nobody wanted to risk drawing her wrath.

**"Explain to me...boar can travel?"**

“Really fast.” Ares grinned wildly.

**"Fun," I said...straining to get it.**

“Nice.” Clarisse laughed. “At least you have a way to steer now.” 

“Yeah, otherwise that could be awkward.” Chris snickered. “Just wandering around wherever the pig wants to go.” 

**"Automatic steering," ...presence of Pan."**

Hermes was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement at this revelation. 

“Chapter’s done.” Frank told the room.

“I’ll read.” Jason stated. 

“I think we should take a break after the next one. I’m hungry.” Percy announced. He knew Bianca’s death was coming up very shortly but he figured they would need a break after that. The only other thing he remembered happening on the trip was...Percy groaned. His meeting with Aphrodite. This was not going to be fun.


	13. We Visit the Junkyard of The Gods

Percy grimaced. This was it. Bianca’s death. He looked towards Nico and gave the younger boy a grim nod. Nico immediately went pale and began blinking rapidly. Will looked at him in concern as Nico found that he was struggling to breath. He was not ready to hear this. He would never be ready. Glancing up, he saw his father watching him with a grim expression. Nico nodded, knowing his father would understand and Hades’ expression grew even darker as he knew immediately what his son was trying to convey. 

Nico could only pray that it would not be descriptive. Although, knowing Percy’s thoughts it probably would be. His breathing became even more ragged. He could feel Will rubbing his back and quietly asking him what was wrong.

“Bianca.” Nico whispered. Will’s eyes flashed with understanding. 

  
“Do you want to go out? The others wouldn’t mind.” Nico considered. Did he want to? Yes. He definitely did but some part of him did not. He wanted to hear what had happened. He simply had to know.

  
“No. I might need to...when it comes but I’ll stay for now.” He said.

  
“Ok. Just tell me if you need to leave. Heck just squeeze my hand and I’ll make our excuses.” Will told him as he took Nico’s hand in his own. 

“Thank you.” Nico whispered. He was incredibly grateful to have the strong presence of Will beside him. He had no idea how he would possibly get through this without it. 

Hephaestus’ eyes had widened slightly.

“You best be careful in there.” He stated. Percy and Nico both scoffed.

“Why?” Leo asked.   
  


“A junkyard of the Gods is usually where dad’s botched projects end up. Or just things he started and discarded.” Beckendorf explained. “All of which are dangerous if disturbed.”

**We rode the boar...of gravel all day.**

“Ouch.” Will said, wincing.

“All day?” Travis let out a sympathetic groan.

“I’m impressed you could  _ feel _ your backend after that.” Chris muttered.

“Trust me, I’d rather have not felt it.” Percy told him.

**That's about how...(do boars gallop?)**

“Yes.” Annabeth stated.

**across the desert...while he's eating."**

“Great. He’s leaving you in the middle of a desert.” Beckendorf complained. Athena and Artemis both stiffened. A land without rain. Artemis suspected the first casualty would be coming up. Which would be Bianca as Atlas was not likely to follow them to the desert. He would be waiting at the mountain. Artemis sighed sadly. She hated it when her Hunter’s died.

**Nobody needed convincing...seemed to go on forever.**

“Well you’re not going to find a new ride around there.” Chris sighed.

“And it’s probably a long walk to anywhere that will have somewhere to get a ride.” Reyna agreed. 

**"Whoa," I said...Zoe suggested.**

Everybody sniggered except Percy who just pouted.

**"Oh, shut up."..."that's trouble."**

“So avoid going left.” Dakota suggested.

“It’s not that easy.” Grover told him regretfully.

**"A monster?" Thalia asked...Dumpster-diving in the dark.**

“I wouldn’t go dumpster diving at all. Dad doesn’t like it if you touch his stuff.” Beckendorf warned.

“Understatement much.” Percy scowled angrily. 

**Zoe and Bianca...so much stuff.**

“Mary Poppins bags.” Rachel grinned.

“What?” Almost everyone looked confused by this.

“It’s a movie.” Rachel told them. “Mary Poppins is a magical nanny…”

“Mary Poppins was actually a daughter of Hecate.” Annabeth stated.

  
“What?” Rachel asked in astonishment. “No way!”

“Yeah. She was a bit different to the mortal film version but they got most of it right. Why do you think she was so good with magic? She also is distantly related to Hermes I think which is why she used her magic to essentially prank the family into taking better care of their kids.” Annabeth smirked. “She went around helping out young demigods so their families would look after them better until they were old enough to go to Camp.” 

“That is amazing.” Rachel said. “I will never be able to watch that movie the same way again. So was Bert a demigod too?” She asked eagerly.

“Yep. He was a son of Hermes.” 

“Yeah. I should have guessed that.” Rachel laughed. 

**I'd noticed their...they were gone.**

“That’s pretty useful.” Beckendorf said.

  
“Yes it is.” Thalia grinned. “Hunter’s secret though.”

“Aww.” Both he and Leo groaned. 

“We’ll just have to come up with our own version.” Leo suggested. Beckendorf nodded eagerly.

**The night got chilly...middle of nowhere.**

“Sooo, not very then?” Gwen guessed.

“Not at all.” Percy grimaced.

**"The stars are out," Zoe said.**

Artemis smiled. Zoe had always loved the stars.

**She was right...human," I said.**

“She is a Hunter.” Artemis stated simply.

“But before that she wasn’t human either.” Percy said. Artemis nodded.

**Zoe raised an...said for thee?"**

“When you’re best friends with Grover you have no choice but to care.” Percy stated.

“You should care about the wild anyway.” Artemis glared at him. “Not simply because your friend wishes you too.” Percy shrugged. He did care but he often had far more important things to think about. Like staying alive and stuff.

**"For you," Thalia corrected...drank more coffee…"**

“I somehow doubt coffee is the answer.” Hermes frowned. His son had disappeared before coffee was even invented, why would that be what caught his attention.

“I didn’t have any other ideas.” Grover sighed.

**I was pretty sure...heart to tell Grover.**

“Thanks, Perc.”

“Anytime, G-Man.”

**I thought about the...I was so close."**

Hermes smiled eagerly. If Grover was indeed Pan’s chosen then he would send another sign regardless of what the Satyr did.

**I didn't answer. I didn't want to squash Grover's hopes.**

“I appreciate that.” Grover smiled. Percy grinned at him. Grover had been correct in the end anyway, despite Percy’s doubts.

**"What I want to know,"..."We will find the answer.**

“It’s a pretty important answer.” Connor said.

“Yeah, with eleven more of those things out there, I’d want to know how she did it right then. Not later when they’ve caught back up and there is no time left.” Travis agreed.

**In the meantime...of a roller coaster.**

“What’s her issue?” Drew rolled her eyes, looking up from her nails.

“Bianca spent a long time in the Lotus Casino.” Silena reminded her sister. “It probably would have been disorientating coming out after a few weeks, especially given they didn’t seem to realise how long had really passed.”

**Zoe frowned. "Why?"...thinking the same thing.**

“At least you solved one mystery for her.” Nico sighed.

**"Bianca," I said...that's not possible."**

“You’re going to freak her out.” Annabeth warned.

“Yeah but it was important.” Percy said. “It explained a lot.” 

**"You said somebody...talk about this."**

Hades felt bad for his daughter. Maybe he should have intervened personally after all. He had not realised how much the transition would affect his children and they deserved some sort of explanation. Not to mention it would ease their transition into the world if other demigods knew they needed to be told about the time period as well as their heritage.

**Zoe sat forward...knew about F.D.R.**

“Really, Percy?” Annabeth looked pained. Percy just grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

“Yep. I hated history.”

“You hate all subjects.” She rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I liked Latin.” He replied, grinning at Chiron.

**"Bianca," Zoe said...You made it out."**

“That’s the most important thing.” Clarisse nodded. Hades grimaced. Yes, his daughter made it out but she was certainly not safe. 

**"But how?" I said...give us a ride again,**

“I wish I could.” Apollo gave him an apologetic grin. “But isn’t it nighttime at the moment?”

“Yeah.” Grover nodded. 

“You could have taken my chariot.” Artemis told her brother.

  
“Too obvious. Dad would notice immediately.” Apollo reminded her. She nodded grimly. 

**but the engine was... and combat boots.**

“Ares!” Zeus thundered. “You definitely have no reason to be interfering on this quest.” Apollo, he might not like his interference at all but he did understand. Ares had no interest in this. 

“I have no idea why I’m there.” Ares frowned. 

“I do.” Aphrodite beamed gleefully. That sounded like her car.

“You as well.” Zeus turned his glare onto the Goddess. “Your interference will have nothing to do with the quest I’m sure.” 

“Then I’m not really interfering.” Aphrodite smiled beautifically. “Simply having a conversation with a demigod.” 

“You’d better not be giving him a side quest or something.” Poseidon glared warningly at Aphrodite.

“Oh, I doubt that’s what I’m there for.” She grinned, looking between Percy and Annabeth. Percy was very red in the face while Annabeth looked curious.

Piper grimaced. If her mom was there it wasn’t for anything good. She felt bad for Percy, who she assumed her mom was there to see.

**Wraparound shades...under my chin.**

“Yes. Completely friendly.” Hephaestus said sarcastically. 

“For Ares that is.” Hermes put in. “He hasn’t taken Percy’s head off.”

“He wouldn’t dare.” Poseidon growled.

**"Of course I'd like...very good company."**

“Oh, like you’re great company.” Apollo scoffed.

**"What's your business...Lord Ares," Zoe said.**

A few people looked surprised by this. 

“Wow. That’s weirdly nice of her.” Silena frowned.

  
“Zoe takes her jobs very seriously. Percy is now a member of her quest and so she will not leave him behind or in trouble.” Artemis said sternly. 

**"Besides," Grover managed...saying, goat boy?"**

“Well, at least you guys get some food out of it.” Jason said warily.

**"Go on," I told my...rudeness as I am."**

A few people nodded. Aphrodite was known to be quite temperamental.

**When I saw her, my jaw dropped.**

The Goddess giggled happily.

**I forgot my name...side of the moon.**

“Aren’t you sweet.” She cooed. Percy put his face in his hands. Why was this in the stupid book? It certainly wasn’t essential to their quest. It could have just said they came and then left again.

**Thinking back on...little like Annabeth.**

Annabeth now went bright red while Apollo scowled in annoyance and, while he would never admit it, jealousy. Aphrodite was looking between the three of them with great interest. Inwardly she was squealing with excitement. This story just got much more interesting now that it was a love triangle. She did adore a good love triangle. All the best stories started with those. 

**Then like this...like, "Um uh gah."**

The females in the room rolled their eyes.

“Well, at least if he can’t talk then he can’t be rude.” Beckendorf chuckled.

“Yeah. This might actually turn out to be a good thing.” Will agreed.

**She smiled...my own arm, hard.**

“Good.” Piper muttered. It was weird hearing someone practically drooling over her mother. 

**"I… I don't know,"...clear my mind.**

“Never thought I’d be grateful Ares was around.” Percy muttered. Aphrodite pouted. Next time she would have to make sure to leave her boyfriend behind. It was always wonderful when they were so awestruck.

**"I don't know...a hopeless case.**

“What do you mean a hopeless case?” Apollo asked through gritted teeth.

“Nothing at all.” Aphrodite told him breezily, clearly not caring.

**I mean, if they were...imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"**

“Well feel free to do something useful and find the monster yourself. Then you can get yourself captured and save us all some bother.” Artemis snapped. Ares glared at Artemis but Aphrodite didn’t seem bothered.

**"But she was..."Annabeth is in trouble."**

Apollo gritted his teeth and told himself they were just friends. Percy wanted to save his  _ friend _ . 

Annabeth could feel the heat pooling in her cheeks even worse than before. She was almost worried they would catch on fire soon. It also made her think. Aphrodite had visited Percy and clearly had been trying to steer him in the direction of realising he had feelings for her. Yet he still hadn’t said anything or acted on them and this had been a year and a half ago. She didn’t think the love Goddess was wrong, per say, and yet something was obviously stopping Percy. Not to mention, since they had been here he had been nothing but friendly. Usually there were some telltale signs that he had liked her but they seemed to have disappeared. 

**Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"...That's so cute!"**

“Those dreams were definitely not cute.” Rachel muttered petulantly. She hoped that she would be coming into the story soon.

“My dreams never are.” Percy complained.

“Demigod dreams suck, just not as much as Percy’s usually do.” Beckendorf nodded.

**"No! I mean…was an accident?**

“What?” Connor frowned. 

“We wanted revenge on Phoebe for attacking us. Why would that have anything to do with you?” Travis asked.

“No idea.” Aphrodite shrugged.

“Unless it was her who gave you the idea to use the poison. Normally your pranks don’t actually hurt someone intentionally.” Katie said thoughtfully. “Even if they deserve it. They might be very annoying,” Here she glared at them, “But they don’t cause people pain deliberately.” The Stolls thought about this. It was true they never aimed to hurt people, even the Ares cabin when they probably deserved it. Still, it was unnerving to find out a Goddess and influenced their prank. Artemis was scowling at the love Goddess.

“How dare you use the demigods to hurt my Hunter.”

“There will be no lasting damage.” Aphrodite said dismissively.

“Oh so it would be fine if they prank your daughters to come out in painful hives for weeks? As long as there is no lasting damage of course.” Artemis snapped. Aphrodite’s eyes flashed dangerously at that. Piper, Drew and Silena exchanged concerned looks. They knew Artemis could do nothing to Aphrodite directly. Would they bare the brunt of her wrath?

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“It might not be their idea.” Artemis said scathingly. Now the Stolls were exchanging worried looks. They didn’t want to be used in a war between Goddesses. That would not end well for them. Especially if nobody was able to prove they had been influenced. The Aphrodite cabin would kill them. 

“Leave my sons out of your petty issues.” Hermes snapped. “They are not your tools to get revenge on each other.” Jason started reading quickly to try and prevent the fight escalating even further.

**Sending Blackjack..."You did that?"**

Now Dionysus, Poseidon and Chiron joined in glaring at the love Goddess. Percy could have died on this quest. He very nearly did not that long ago. 

**"Of course!...for true love—"**

Apollo ground his teeth some more. 

**"Wait a second...throw her life away!**

“Joining the Hunters is not throwing her life away.” Thalia scowled. 

“Of course it is.” Aphrodite said dismissively. “No love is no life at all.”

“There is far more to life than men.” Thalia rolled her eyes. 

“You’re too young to understand.” Aphrodite waved a hand. Thalia gritted her teeth. She was about to say something quite nasty in return when Artemis sent her a warning look. Reluctantly, she sank back into her seat glaring at the love Goddess.

Connor frowned to himself. He couldn’t imagine Annabeth joining the Hunters of Artemis. Camp Half Blood without Annabeth was simply unimaginable. She was as much a part of the place as the Big House in his mind. 

**And you, my dear...are your enemies.**

“No they aren’t.” Percy snapped. Aphrodite looked at him in surprise. 

“But they…”

“Are not the enemy. Kronos is the enemy. Luke is the enemy.” Percy glared. Hermes winced. “Quests are dangerous enough without you trying to turn us against each other.” Quite a few people nodded at this. Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis were all scowling at Aphrodite. Even Zeus looked unhappy at this. “Not that it worked anyway.” Percy added.

**Forget them and Artemis and the monster. That's not important.**

“Of course it’s important!” Apollo yelled. How dare she say rescuing his sister was unimportant! “Your stupid little love story won’t do any good if Olympus is destroyed.”

“Love is very important. Just because your own love life usually ends in disaster.” Aphrodite shot back. Apollo half rose out of his seat in anger.

“Enough!” Hestia said. Though her voice was quiet it carried over the arguing Gods and everybody stopped. “Of course Aphrodite considers her domain important, however the future of Olympus is at stake. If we lose to my father then none of our domains will matter.” Aphrodite sank back and glowered at the floor. She might be technically older but nobody argued with Hestia.

**You just concentrate...anything about love.**

“Yes. Stop putting words in his mouth.” Apollo glared some more.

“I’m the Goddess of love. He doesn’t need to say it.” She rolled her eyes. 

**And second, what's up with tragic!"**

“To her it’s not interesting if it isn’t tragic.” Piper said in growing annoyance. Her mom was  _ so  _ embarrassing.

“Stay out of my son’s love life.” Poseidon stated.

“You can’t tell me to stay out of my domain.” Aphrodite looked at him as if he were stupid. 

“You don’t interfere with every single love story out there. You can stay out of Percy’s.” Poseidon reiterated with a stern glare. Aphrodite made no response except to scoff. Like she would ever ignore a love story that was so interesting.

**"Love conquers all," Aphrodite...Follow your heart."**

“Yeah, see, I’d rather not get thousands of people killed.” Percy said firmly. “Or allow Olympus to be put in danger to follow my heart.” He had wanted to find Annabeth desperately but he knew Artemis was more important. It had been pure luck Annabeth was held in the same place as Artemis because he would have stayed with the other questers regardless. Or at least he liked to think so. Mainly because he’d have gotten himself killed if he attempted a rescue on his own and that wouldn’t help Annabeth either. 

**"But… I don't know..."Don't do that."**

A few people snickered at that.

**"And don't worry,"...boring for you.**

Percy snorted. He wouldn’t be surprised if meeting Rachel had been designed by the Goddess as well. If he hadn’t known the Gods had no powers at the moment, he would have sworn she was messing with him now too, given his developing crush on Apollo. Which he would never  _ ever _ admit to out loud. It must just be a reaction to the attention the God had been paying him. At least that’s what he told himself. Besides, Apollo would never be interesting in him that way. Gods didn’t have relationships with mortals. Just brief flings. It was simply impossible given that he would die. His whole lifetime was the blink of an eye to Gods. Plus he was likely to be dying pretty soon, even by mortal standards, knowing his luck. It had to run out eventually and he’d already ridden his luck to extremes in the past few years.

**No, I have some...nice as you."**

“Why would you want your daughters to break people’s hearts?” Reyna asked carefully. “Wishing a broken heart on someone is simply cruel.” She would never forget her own meeting with Venus in Charleston. Aphrodite opened her mouth to answer but Jason started reading again.

**Aphrodite's eyes were...his trinkets and trash."**

“At least you gave them a warning. There was at least some use to your visit.” Athena huffed. 

**"What?" I asked...love was over.**

“Thank goodness.” Apollo muttered to himself.

**"You're lucky, punk."...I shot back.**

Poseidon sighed. Well at least Aphrodite seemed to like his son. He may not like her interest in his love life, which was going to be complicated enough if Apollo had his way, but Ares wouldn’t dare kill Percy if it upset her. Even if he did dare to risk Poseidon’s own wrath.

“Did you want him to kill you?” Triton asked. He was genuinely concerned given what he had read the previous night.

“No.” Percy said. “His aura just affects me a lot.” 

**It was a stupid thing...the wrath of Ares."**

“Ares.” Poseidon growled warningly. His son was about to go and face a Titan. Not just any Titan but Atlas. The General of Kronos’ army. If Ares’ curse caused Percy to get hurt he would make the God of war regret it.

Clarisse frowned worriedly. While she figured Percy had deserved some punishment for how he had treated her cabin and her dad in his first summer at Camp, she didn’t want him getting hurt or killed because of her dad’s stupid ego. Percy had beaten him fairly as much as she hated the idea.

**I balled my fists...good and ready.**

“So, never then.” Nico muttered.

“Yeah, Percy beat you when he was twelve with almost no training. Plus he’s only getting better.” Thalia scoffed, glaring at Ares. The God glared right back for daring to imply the sea brat could beat him again. He had gotten lucky. Nothing more.

**Until then…pick anything up."**

Nico swallowed harshly. He remembered Percy trying to give him a figurine and saying it was from Bianca. He had never given it much thought but now he wondered if she had picked it up in the junkyard. There weren’t exactly many places to stop and buy mythomagic figurines on the quest. Although, why it would be a junkyard was anyone’s guess.

**Zoe narrowed her...talked to me about.**

“Well, I could guess  _ who _ she had talked to you about.” Grover told him. “To be honest, it wasn’t a difficult guess even if I hadn’t been able to read your emotions.”

**"So," I said...it was real."**

“Zoe is right. You should show some respect boy.” Athena glared.

“You seriously still hadn’t realised that the myths were all real?” Annabeth asked in exasperation. Percy just shrugged, looking sheepish.

**"Guys," Grover broke in..."You call this junk?"**

“Yes.” Beckendorf nodded. “Now put that down.” He stated, looking grim.

“I can’t do anything now.” Grover reminded him.

**He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"**

“Grover!” Annabeth hissed.

“Sorry.” The Satyr winced, looking at Hephaestus. The God simply waved the apology away with a hand. That wasn’t enough to set off his defences. There was no intention to steal anything or take it out of the junkyard so he would be fine.

**Thalia swatted the...Zoe's face was grim.**

“Why would a Hunter’s bow be there?” Piper asked.

“The junkyard isn’t just Hephaestus’ creations. It is a home for anything that is cursed or defective. Most of it is Hephaestus’ work but other things can be thrown in there too.” Thalia explained.

**"Leave it, Bianca."...refrigerators?" I asked.**

Percy cringed at his own comment. 

“Killer refrigerators?” Connor snickered.

“Anything is possible in that place.” Beckendorf said. 

**She gave me a...out some of it.**

“Percy!” Poseidon groaned.

  
“Hey, it wasn’t just me.” Percy protested.

“That doesn’t mean you should have been picking stuff up.” Triton warned. Percy nodded. They had learnt that lesson the hard way.

“As long as they have no intention of stealing, it won’t hurt them to look at things.” Hephaestus informed the room at large. “The protections will only activate if they actually take something out of the junkyard.” Poseidon heaved a sigh of relief.

**I found an electric...to pick it up.**

Apollo smiled at that. Percy had even remembered what his instrument was called. Given his seeming lack of knowledge on a lot of subjects, including most myths it seemed, it was pleasing he had remembered something like that. “I’m sure we can get you one that isn’t defective.” He promised.

“Wicked!” Percy grinned happily. “Thanks.”

“You can play the guitar?” Grover asked his friend in surprise. 

“No. It just looked awesome.” Percy admitted.

“I’m sure I could be persuaded to give you some lessons.” Apollo smirked.

“Instead of archery?” Percy asked hopefully.

“Hey! I thought you liked those. Plus you’re just getting decent. You can’t stop now.” 

“At this rate I’m gonna spend all my spare time in lessons.” Percy pouted.

“So you don’t want guitar lessons?”

“No. I do.” Percy sighed. Between guitar lessons, archery lessons and Mist lessons from Chiron he was going to have no spare time. Still, it would be quite cool and at least two of those lessons were going to be interesting. Well, the Mist lessons should be interesting but could be frustrating if Chiron was right about how hard it would be to learn.

“Awesome.” Apollo grinned. “We’ll start once I manage to find you a guitar shaped like my lyre. Any special requests?” 

“Can it be blue?”

“Of course.” 

“Wicked.” 

**Grover found a...through the desert.**

“Good. Now hurry.” Leo urged. He had a feeling something was going to go horribly wrong. If they had got through the junkyard without trouble the chapter title would probably have been named after Percy’s talk with Aphrodite. 

**But between us...really large toes."**

Percy and Thalia both looked down sadly. Nico watched Percy carefully, fists clenched in worry. He felt slightly sick and the son of Hades was still deciding if he wanted to leave for this part or not. Suddenly he felt Will squeeze his hand and he looked up. Will was watching him in concern. He shook his head to say he didn’t need to leave yet.

**Zoe and Thalia...Ping.**

Nico couldn’t breath. It felt like something was squeezing his chest. Hades didn’t feel much better.

**Thalia hefted her...was only Grover.**

Father and son both let out a breath that wasn’t quite relief. They both just wished it would happen and be over. All of this tension was killing them and making everything worse.

**He had thrown...like fake feet?"**

“You wear fake feet all the time.” Rachel said in confusion.

“And I hate them.” Grover told her.

**"Come on." Thalia...sticks them in a junkyard?**

“I’d be more worried about whatever the toes are attached to.” Beckendorf muttered.

**After several minutes..."Talos!" Zoe gasped.**

“Oh crap.” Beckendorf breathed. “That’s not good.”

“What the heck?” Leo asked.

“Someone must have taken something.” Hephaestus stated. 

“Well, it wasn’t Percy because that would have been noted.” Poseidon said.

“It doesn’t matter who.” Hades snapped. “Someone took something and now that monster isn’t just going to leave them alone.” 

**"Who—who's Talos?"...It's too small.**

“Too small?” Gwen asked. “It sounded huge.” 

“And the original Talos was even bigger.” Annabeth stated.

**A prototype...feet long, easy.**

“One hundred feet?” Jason reiterated.

“That’s insane.” Chris whispered.

**It looked rusty...accusingly at me.**

“Really not the time.” Rachel shook her head.

“Plus it wasn’t Percy.” Apollo stated in annoyance. “Just because he’s male doesn’t mean he did it.” Nico desperately wished everyone would just shut up so they could get through this part quickly.

**I shook my head...she looked guilty,**

Hades let out a pained breath. So his daughter had taken something, despite all the warnings, and it had cost her her life. The one small comfort was that he had not been the one to kill her. 

Nico almost sobbed. Bianca  _ had _ taken that stupid figurine for him. She had lost her life trying to get him a stupid toy because it was the only one he didn’t have. 

**but I didn't have...Thalia drew her shield**

“I don’t think that will have an effect on an automaton.” Beckendorf told her. She shrugged.

“It made me feel better.” 

“Fair enough.”

**and held it up...I said. "That bow."**

“Not really the time.” Will told Percy.

“I had hoped that if she put back whatever she had taken it would stop the monster.” Percy explained. 

“Nope. Once something has been taken from dad’s junkyard, nothing can stop the defences.” Beckendorf grimaced. 

“Just wonderful.” Jason groaned, worried for his sister.

**"No!" she said...up the giant's backside.**

“Nice.” Leo whistled.

“It will take more than that to destroy that monster.” Annabeth said.

“Still, it should give Percy and Bianca time to move.” Beckendorf stated.

**Talos whirled around...statue he didn't have."**

Nico’s vision began to blur as tears started falling down his face. He turned to hide his face in Will’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe Bianca had died over a toy. 

**"How can you think...see him anymore.**

“Grover.” Annabeth winced.

“I was alright.” Grover said. 

**"No!" Thalia yelled...The giant collapsed,**

Zeus gave his daughter a grim smile with a hint of pride. She nodded, a small smile on her own face.

**but immediately started..."Crazy-idea time," I said.**

“Beyond crazy.” Thalia grimaced. Percy sighed. Now Nico and Hades would find out it had been his stupid idea that had gotten Bianca killed. Honestly it should have been him. It was his plan, he should have done it.

**Bianca looked at...You'll be crushed"**

“No. That’s far too dangerous.” Poseidon told him son. Percy could only nod.

**"Distract it," I said..."No. I'll go."**

No.” Hades whispered miserably. 

“She is very brave.” Reyna murmured quietly. 

**"You can't...tell him I'm sorry."**

Nico whimpered. Will held him tightly. There was nothing he could say to make this better so he didn’t even try. 

Hazel had gone very pale. Frank put his arm around her shoulders.

“You ok?” He whispered.

“She’s my sister.” Hazel muttered in a dazed tone. It was so strange for her, hearing about this. She felt desperately sorry for Nico but at the same time she felt a pain in her chest for the half sister she had never gotten to meet. 

“I’m sorry.” Frank said. It was fairly obvious what was coming next so he didn’t bother pretending everything was going to be ok.

**"Bianca, no!"...into one nostril.**

“Cool.” Leo muttered to himself. 

**The giant straightened...didn't get back up.**

“I thought you said you were alright!” Annabeth shrieked.

  
“I was. I was just tired.” Grover assured her.

**"Grover!" Thalia...doing the Funky Chicken.**

A few people couldn’t help but let out quiet chuckles, despite the horrible tension in the room. The image was just too funny.

**Then he made a..."How will Bianca get out?"**

“Through the foot?” Dakota suggested. 

**The giant hit itself...shot up his body.**

“No. Bianca is still in there.” Gwen winced. Nico gripped Will harder. Horrible images were flashing through his head and he was sure he was going to be sick. 

**I hoped the inside...but no luck.**

Nico squeezed Will’s hand and then got up and went over to his father. Hades opened his arms and hugged his son tightly. Persephone moved to sit with her mother to give the two some space.

**Zoe sat down and...go instead of me?**

“It was  _ not _ your fault.” Apollo whispered harshly to Percy. “You can’t fight prophecy.”

“It didn’t specify who was lost. It should have been me.” Percy replied equally miserably. Apollo didn’t answer. He figured the chapter should be over soon and then he would talk to Percy.

**Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone.**

There was a ringing silence in the room. It took people a few moments to realise that Jason had stopped reading.

  
“Chapter’s over.” He announced.

“Break time.” Chiron stated firmly. “Let us go and have lunch.” 

Hades and Nico were the first to rise. They left the room swiftly. Everybody else waited a few seconds before leaving as well. 


	14. Coping With the First Loss

Hades practically carried his son straight to his temporary quarters. He could not bear to let him go just yet. Once inside they both simply collapsed onto the couch, sobbing. Hades held onto his son like a lifeline. His daughter, his beautiful Bianca was gone. He wanted to blame Jackson, he really did, but he simply couldn’t. His daughter had taken that figurine against all warnings and she had paid the price. Although he did spare some of the blame for the Huntress who had decided his untrained daughter should have gone on such a dangerous quest.

Then the grief completely overwhelmed him and there was no space for rational thought. He had not grieved this much in millennia and it felt even worse than he remembered. The only thing keeping him going was the idea that they could change this future and he would not make the same mistakes. He had wanted one of his children to be the one in the prophecy. To save Olympus and get the recognition they deserve and yet, he had lost one child already. He would not let Nico die too. Whatever he had to do to prevent that. 

He felt his son’s tears soaking through his robes and it hurt his heart that all he could do was hold him tighter. There was little other comfort he could offer, nor did he really know how. He hadn’t been much of a hands on father even back before the interference rules were put in place. He had the Furies take care of things like moving his children to safe locations and any other business that needed taking care of. Besides, he did not have very many demigod children. Hades felt helpless, lost, grieved and many other emotions besides. He closed his eyes as a fresh wave of his own tears trickled down his cheek into Nico’s hair. 

Nico felt like he was drowning. It was like he had lost his sister all over again. It was even worse because now he knew exactly how  _ pointless _ her death was. There was no reason for her to have picked anything up except to get  _ him _ something he had wanted. Even when she thought she might die, she had given the stupid figurine to Percy to give to him. As if he could ever want something that had essentially killed his sister. He was just so angry at Bianca and that made him feel guilty as well as miserable. 

“Do you want me to have someone send some food here?” His father’s hoarse voice broke the silence, making Nico jump. He considered. Given how sick he was still feeling, food probably wasn’t a good idea but he knew he should eat something. A nagging voice in the back of his mind, that sounded suspiciously like Will, was telling he should at least try to eat something small.

“Yeah please. Just something light though.” He replied. Hades nodded. He maneuvered Nico so that he could get up momentarily. He left the room and returned almost immediately. His arm snaked back around Nico’s shoulders and tucked him against Hades’ chest once more. 

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door before Persephone came in with two plates of food. She placed them on a nearby table and looked at the forlorn figures sympathetically.

“Do you two need anything else?”

“No thank you, love.” Hades said, offering her a sad smile. It came out as more of a grimace but she appreciated his attempt nevertheless. She nodded and left the room to give them their privacy.

It was a little while before Nico felt up to trying to force down some of the crackers his stepmother had brought. They did require a lot of juice to wash down but he managed to eat a few of them. It was then he noticed that his father hadn’t eaten anything himself, though Gods didn’t require the same sustenance as mortals. In fact his plate didn’t seem to be getting any smaller and he realised his dad was putting food from his own plate onto Nico’s every time he ate something. Still, he didn’t eat much, his stomach wouldn’t allow it. 

“Is your sister in Elysium or did she try for rebirth?” Hades asked quietly.

“I don’t know. Last I heard she was in Elysium.” Nico stated, equally quietly. His voice sounded horrible and his throat was scratchy. 

“Are you feeling up to reading more or do you wish me to tell the others to postpone the reading?” Nico knew Zeus would be furious if they postponed the reading any further.

“Zeus…” He began.

“Will not be an issue. If you do not feel up to reading then we will not do so.” His father said firmly. “Poseidon, Hestia and I can keep our brother in check easily enough.” Nico considered. On one hand he didn’t really want to read anymore when Bianca’s death was likely to be a common topic but on the other, postponing it wouldn’t make it any better. In fact it would probably be worse.

  
“No. I’ll be ok.” He said. If his father picked up on the slight waver in his voice, he said nothing and simply nodded. 

“Well then, the hour is nearly up. Let us compose ourselves and return.” Nico nodded to this suggestion. He went to the bathroom to wash his eyes and took a few minutes to keep his breathing calm. Then he went back out and stated that he was ready. 

********************************

Percy was expecting Apollo to haul him off for a talk but his dad and Triton got there first. They led him off to Poseidon’s quarters and sat him down. Triton was opposite him while his dad sat beside him, an arm around his shoulders.

“Percy, what happened to Bianca was incredibly sad but it was  _ not  _ your fault.” Poseidon stated calmly. Inside, he felt anything but calm. 

“But…” Percy began.

“No.” Triton said sharply. “Zoe was the one who decided a new, untrained Hunter should be part of the quest. Bianca was the one who took something from Lord Hephaestus’ junkyard despite being warned several times. None of the blame lies with you.”

“It was my plan that got her killed.” 

“You did not force her to do it. She went of her own free will, even knowing there was a risk she would not come back.” Poseidon said. “Bianca knew she should not have picked up that toy. She took responsibility for her choice and wanted to make amends. That is commendable. And not your fault.” 

  
“It still should have been me.” It hurt his heart to hear his son talk like this. It seemed that no matter what they said Percy would place no value on his own life.

“Why?” Triton asked. “What makes her life worth more than yours?”

“She was just a kid!”

“So were you. You were only a couple of years older than Bianca.” Triton replied easily.

“She had just become an immortal Hunter of Artemis. She had her whole life ahead of her!”

“So did you. You still do. You’re not even sixteen, you have the vast majority of your life left. Just because hers might have been longer does not make it worth more than yours.” Triton argued. Percy opened his mouth and then closed it again with a perturbed look on his face. Poseidon smiled proudly at his immortal son.

“It was my plan. I should have gone.” Percy said finally. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to die?” Triton asked in concern.

“I…” Percy closed his eyes and Poseidon’s heart broke a little bit more.    
  


“Percy?” He asked carefully. 

“I just feel like...like I should have died. Several times already. I got shot in the back twice not that long before this happened. It was pure luck that I survived and it just feels like maybe my luck demands a price.”

“You think Bianca died because you didn’t die?” Triton asked in confusion.

“Not exactly. Just that someone had to die as a payment for all the times I’ve lived when I should have died.”

“No. That’s just your luck balancing out. By rights, at least half of those situations in which you should have died should never have even happened. Your luck just works in extremes. Good and bad.” Poseidon told his son, desperate for him to believe him. Percy hummed noncommittally.

“The prophecy for this quest stated exactly how many people would die.” Triton reminded him. “It may not have specified who but where those skeletons shot you was not a ‘land without rain’ therefore did not meet the criteria set in the prophecy. That has nothing to do with your luck or anything you did. It is simply the way Fate set everything out.” Percy nodded slowly. 

“Not everything wrong in the world is your fault.” Poseidon said. “Strangely enough the world doesn’t actually revolve around your actions.” Percy managed a dry chuckle at that.

“No but saving the world is my responsibility.” 

“That doesn’t mean you are at fault for anything that happens in the world. It is war and people  _ will  _ die. That is simply the nature of war. The war was started by Kronos. Any deaths due to the war are on his hands not yours.” Poseidon stated heavily. 

“I know. It’s just hard.” Percy sighed.

“I know, son. You cannot help how you feel as long as you know it wasn’t your fault.”

“Logically I do know that.” Percy nodded. Poseidon let out a quiet sigh of relief. It wasn’t fixed, but it was a start. 

“Good.” Triton smiled. “Now, let us go and get some food. I wish to try some of these blue pancakes I’ve heard so much about.” Percy visibly perked up at the mention of blue pancakes. He jumped out and dashed out of the room.

“Thank you.” Poseidon said to his son.

“He’s a good kid for a demigod.” Triton admitted. “Besides, for some reason I can’t seem to hate him.”

“I’m glad.” 

“Well, I’d best go and try these pancakes.” Triton gave a small grimace. Poseidon laughed, pleased his son was making the effort. He knew Triton had never really liked mortal food all that much. He generally stuck to Ambrosia and Nectar when possible. It was quite a big sign of just how fond of Percy he had become.

“Go on then. Do try not to be sick.” The sea God smirked.

***************************************

Apollo had intended to speak with Percy about his worrying thoughts at the end of that chapter but Poseidon had dragged him off before he could. And if anyone really should have that conversation with Percy it was his father. He would certainly still have a talk with Percy but he hoped Poseidon would be able to make him see that not everything was his fault. 

Instead he spotted his son watching the door of the dining hall as if waiting for someone. He suspected he was looking for the son of Hades. He went to sit with Will.

“How are you doing?” He asked as he sat down.

“I’m ok.” Will replied shortly.

  
“I wouldn’t expect him to come here.” Apollo told him. “I bet he and uncle Hades will be staying in Hades’ rooms until it is time to start reading again.” He watched as his son’s cheeks went pink.

“I wasn’t…”

“Yeah. You were. And I know it sucks not to feel like you’re helping.” Apollo said, he felt exactly the same way right now with Percy. “But the best thing you can do is continue to just be there for him.”

“It just doesn’t feel like enough.”

“It never does. But I saw the two of you in there. He needed you.”

“I was just being a friend.” Will defended.

“A very good one.” Apollo agreed. “But you like him.” 

“Of course I like him.” Apollo raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh fine. Yes. I  _ like  _ him but I’m pretty sure Nico has a huge crush on Percy.” Liking a guy who had a crush on someone else, Apollo could relate to that. Well, past Percy had a huge crush on Annabeth, he wasn’t sure if he still did or not. 

“It was you that he was clinging to like a liferaft in there.” Apollo pointed out.

“I just happened to be nearby.” Will shrugged, though he looked pained by the idea.

“Well so was his sister but he wasn’t clinging to her. If he was just looking for any old comfort you’d have thought he would have gone to her.” WIll frowned as he thought about it. Maybe his dad was right. Still he couldn’t exactly talk to Nico about it right now. The last thing Nico needed was to be burdened with Will’s crush with everything else he was going through.

“Thanks, dad.” He said.

“Anytime.” Apollo clapped his son on the shoulder. He went to stand up but Will’s next question made him freeze. 

“What’s up with you and Percy?” 

“Err...what do you mean?” He asked awkwardly.

“Well you’ve been super close the last few days. Giving him archery lessons, saying you’ll give him guitar lessons. Plus you promised to get him that guitar when most of your kids don’t even get birthday presents.” Apollo grimaced guiltily. Of course he had considered how his kids would feel about him dating Percy but he hadn’t thought about how that spur of the moment offer would be seen by Will.

“Will, I…” He couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say. After a few moments he pulled an explanation from thin air. “In this time the rules still apply. We’re supposed to be keeping our distance. If we can convince Zeus to change these rules, I will be trying to make sure I make it to see all my kids on their birthday. Even if it’s only for a few moments.” Will nodded slowly at this. It did make some sense but there was still something missing. It didn’t explain why Percy got such a random gift.

“Ok, I get why we don’t really get gifts and stuff. We’ve always understood that. We don’t like it but that’s the way it is. Why Percy?” Will asked. Apollo sighed. He didn’t want to lie to his son but he also wasn’t sure he was ready for this conversation yet. He was silent for a few moments.

“Look, how would you feel if I said I wanted to date Percy?” He asked suddenly. Will’s eyes went very wide.

“You...what?” He looked like someone had just clubbed him over the head. “But you’re a...and he’s…”

“I know. Trust me there are so many issues I don’t even know where to begin. This most likely won’t go anywhere but in the very unlikely event things do go my way, I would like to know how you feel about that.” Apollo admitted.

“Weird springs to mind.” Will said. 

“That’s fair enough. I expected that to be honest.” 

“Yeah. Mostly weird. I definitely need some time to get my head around that.” Apollo nodded. He ruffled Will’s hair and then made a second attempt to leave the table. Then he went to find Hephaestus. He had promised Percy a guitar after all. Once he found the God of the forges, he made his request. Hephaestus agreed quite easily. Apollo went through all of his specifications, including a very specific design. He couldn’t wait to see Percy’s face when he gave it to him. Hephaestus nodded and told him it should be ready in a day or two depending on how long the readings took. 

Once that was done he set about thinking of a gift for his son. So far he had surmised that Will took after his healing aspect more than his musical or archery sides. His first thought was to give him some medical supplies to take back to his time for their upcoming war but it seemed too impersonal. His options were slightly limited by his lack of powers so he couldn’t just snap up something. 

Finally he had an idea and began preparing what he would need. 

**********************************

The break ended up being closer to two hours rather than an hour but nobody except Zeus minded. In fact the demigods, and a couple of the Gods, were actually quite pleased by this. Everyone took the same seats as before. Nico went back to sit with Will instead of his father. As soon as he placed himself next to the son of Apollo, Will grabbed his hand.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m...better.” Nico said. Will nodded.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No. Just…” Nico looked down at their joined hands. “Stay like this.”

“As long as you want me to.” Will promised. Nico’s cheeks flushed but he smiled gratefully. Will did an internal fist pump of happiness. Outwardly he just kept smiling and sat back on the couch. 

“I think it’s my turn to read.” Silena said, picking up the book. She glanced around the room to make sure everybody was ready and then read out the next chapter title.


	15. I Have a Dam Problem

“Oh, Rachel should make her first appearance in this one.” Percy grinned. 

“About time too.” Rachel said. 

**At the edge of the dump...nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.**

Nico grimaced. While he had expected it to be a frequent topic, he wished it didn’t have to be mentioned so soon. He hoped there weren’t too many comments so they could get through this bit to where something else interesting happened.

**My hand closed...to tell Nico?**

Now Percy grimaced. Telling Nico about Bianca had been one of the worst moments of his life.

**I wanted to..."It should've been me," I said.**

“You don’t still think that right?” Apollo whispered to him.

“No. Dad and Triton...well I don’t like it but I know it wasn’t my fault.” Percy replied equally quietly. Apollo nodded in relief.

**"I should've gone into...like he had on war paint.**

“Leo does that all the time.” Piper laughed. “It’s a strange day if he doesn’t have oil streaks all over his face.”

“Or in his hair.” Jason added with a chuckle.

“Most Hephaestus kids are like that.” Katie said with a smile.

“Charlie isn’t.” Silena put in. “Not usually anyway.” 

**"I'm… I'm okay."...because he might start bawling.**

“Sorry, Percy.” Grover said.

“Don’t worry, G-Man. I got why it affected you so much.” Percy grinned. “Besides, it actually helped me.”

“What?” Rachel asked. “Why?”

“Because Grover freaking out helped me pull myself together. I could focus on helping him and not on freaking out myself.” Percy explained. A few people nodded at that.

**At least there's one...front of the truck.**

“We weren’t really talking.” Thalia admitted.

**The tow truck ran..."We could get to the river."**

“I don’t think Thalia will appreciate that.” Jason said.

“Nope.” Thalia agreed.

**I tried to see what...tiny ledge winding down the cliff face.**

“I’m not even scared of heights and I didn’t want to go down that path.” Percy said.

“I thought you hated heights?” Annabeth asked.

“I don’t like them but I’m not terrified like…” Percy trailed off. “I’m not frightened.” He corrected himself after Thalia shot him a glare. 

“Besides, that path sounds alright for you Grover but you have hooves.” Annabeth pointed out. 

**"That's a goat path,"...Grover said. "I think."**

“Oh that’s very convincing.” Reyna said sarcastically. 

**I thought about that...won't hurt us."**

“Thanks.” Thalia muttered. Percy nodded.

**I glanced at Thalia...note saying IOU two canoes.**

“Why drachmas?” Piper asked.

“No mortal money.” Percy shrugged.

“At least he left something.” Katie said. “Some people wouldn’t have bothered.” She looked at Travis and Connor who both shrugged. They didn’t bother denying it.

**"We need to go upstream,"...like somebody with the flu.**

Artemis sighed sadly at that. She knew Zoe would be blaming herself.

**"The rapids are too swift."**

“Well it’s a good job you have a son of Poseidon with you then.” Hermes said.

“Yeah, that should be no problem for Percy.” Triton nodded.

**"Leave that to me," I said..."Don't mention it."**

Thalia smiled. She was so glad that Percy was such a decent guy. 

**"Can you really…"...maybe you can talk to her."**

“You really think Percy should talk to Zoe? She doesn’t like him at the best of times.” Rachel pointed out.

“Maybe but I’d already tried and I couldn’t get through to her.” Thalia sighed. “Percy has his magic that I figured even Zoe couldn’t resist.” 

“It’s not magic!” Percy said in exasperation.

**"She's not going to like that."...last thing I wanted to do, but I nodded.**

“You are a very good friend.” Apollo stated. He didn’t know many males who would dare to speak to an upset or angry Hunter. But it bothered him that Thalia wanted Percy to talk to and cheer up Zoe but nobody seemed willing to do the same for Percy. He pushed aside his own feelings to help Grover and now Zoe.

**Thalia's shoulders relaxed..."One and a half," Thalia said.**

“Definitely two.” Percy said.

“Yeah. Fair enough.” Thalia agreed.

**She smiled...when she wasn't yelling at me.**

Thalia and Percy grinned at each other.

**She turned and helped Grover...I had a hard time understanding naiads.**

“They were probably giggling.” Triton nodded. “They don’t do much else.” 

“At least they were helpful.” Percy sighed.

**We're heading upstream...hooves sticking up in the air.**

Everyone burst out laughing at that.

“Some warning would have been nice.” Grover grumbled.

“I didn’t really have any myself.” Percy told him with a smirk.

**"I hate naiads," Zoe grumbled...hit Zoe in the face.**

“I think they heard her.” Silena laughed. 

**"She-devils!" Zoe went for her bow.**

“Overreaction much.” Piper frowned. “They were probably just playing.”

“Well, they wouldn’t have appreciated what Zoe said but I don’t think that some water in the face deserves to be shot.” Triton said.

**"Whoa," I said. "They're just playing."...They've never forgiven me."**

“Or they got upset because you said you hate them.” Silena rolled her eyes. 

**"Forgiven you for what?”..."It was my fault. I let her go."**

Apollo reached out and squeezed Percy’s hand. 

**I figured this would...would be the next lieutenant."**

“Surely she would need more training to become the Lieutenant?” Rachel frowned.

“Yeah. She would.” Thalia nodded. She was honestly surprised that she had been given the title over the older Hunters but at least she had had demigod training. Bianca hadn’t even had that. Artemis sighed. Zoe had suspected all along that she would die on this quest. 

**"But you're the lieutenant."...Artemis herself is in danger."**

“That is not your fault Zoe.” Artemis whispered. “There is nothing you could have done.” 

**"Look, you can't blame yourself...There's nothing you could have done."**

“Look at Percy being right.” Annabeth laughed.

“Had to happen sometime.” Grover chuckled.

“Hey!” Percy complained.

**Zoe didn't answer..."It was a gift. And a mistake."**

“Zoe knows about demigod dreams. Nothing is too crazy.” Artemis stated.

**"Who was the hero?" I asked...Don't all you boys want to be just like him?"**

“No.” Percy stated firmly. Zeus looked affronted at this.

“You should aspire to be like my son. He was the finest hero.” 

“No he wasn’t. Heracles was a jerk.” Thalia scowled.

“Definitely.” Percy agreed. 

“How dare you!” The God thundered. Silena decided to keep reading quickly. Hera silenced Zeus with a glare.

**Her voice was so bitter...I wondered if it was cursed.**

Poseidon thought about the great prophecy and felt a shudder run down his spine. But then he thought some more about it and realised that it made no sense for Riptide to reap Percy’s soul. It must mean something else. It  _ had _ to.

**"Your mother was a water goddess?"..."But weren't there only four sisters'?"**

“She just said there were five.” Annabeth shook her head.

“She might have just made a mistake.” Percy shrugged.

**"There are now. I was exiled. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed."**

“That’s cruel for one mistake.” Thalia sighed.

“Given who her father is, what else did you expect?” Chris asked.

**"Why?"...but he took all the credit."**

“Why would he take all the credit?” Will asked. “Why did it matter to him?” 

“Getting the apples were one of Heracles’ great tasks. He wasn’t supposed to have help with them. He might have thought that if he acknowledged her part then his cousin would have declared the task failed.” Jason said, trying to defend his half brother.

“She lost her family and her home for helping him. The least he could have done was help her in return.” Percy scowled. “Not just ignored her and pretended she didn’t do pretty much all the work for him.” 

**"But—"..."Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."**

“I can’t believe I missed going to see Hoover Dam.” Annabeth groaned. “I love Hoover Dam.”

“Maybe the four of us can take a trip there when this is all over.” Percy suggested.

“That sounds good.” Grover nodded.

“I’m in.” Thalia agreed.

“Thanks guys.” Annabeth smiled gratefully at her friends.

**We stood at the river's..."Largest construction project in the United States."**

“You guys do listen!” Annabeth exclaimed happily.

“It’s hard not to pick up some stuff.” Thalia told her. 

**Zoe stared at us...Grover sniffled. "So annoying."**

“Hey!”

“I meant it in a good way?” Grover tried.

“How exactly do you call someone annoying in a good way?” Annabeth asked.

“You do it all the time with Percy.” Thalia smirked. 

**"I wish she were here," I said...Just to say we've been."**

“You guys are the best.” Annabeth grinned.

“We know.” Grover told her. She rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have time to be sightseeing.” Apollo said with a frown. 

“We needed to get to the Dam to get to the road.” Percy told him.

“To get to the dam road.” Thalia snickered.

**"You are mad," Zoe decided.**

“Yep.” Beckendorf laughed.

“I can’t believe she’s only just noticed.” Leo snickered.

“Like you can talk. You’re crazier than they are.” Piper told him.

**"But that's where the road is."...I knew he smelled monsters.**

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Reyna asked.

“Because it was hard to tell how far away they were. Given the area they could have been miles away.” Grover said.

“Given how fast they can travel, it wouldn’t take them long to make up a few miles.” Clarisse pointed out.

**"How close are they?"...I don't like that."**

“Yeah, that’s not good. You’re going to need some pretty speedy transport to outrun them.” Hermes frowned.

**I didn't either. It was already Wednesday..."A gift from Athena."**

Zeus smiled at his daughter.

**Tourists were clustered all around them..."They think it's good luck."**

“They think rubbing toes is good luck?” Connor asked.

“Yeah. Mortals are weird.” Thalia shrugged.

“Hey!” Rachel protested.

“You’re definitely weird.” Percy told her with a smirk.

**"Why?"...some kind of sign from her dad.**

Zeus sighed. He wished he could give his daughter what she wanted from him but it was simply impossible. He was supposed to be the King, the leader. He needed to set the example, not that anybody seemed to follow the rules anymore. Unless...unless they, or he, did change the rules. The King of the Gods was definitely an ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ kinda guy. In fact he was pretty much a ‘if it  _ is _ broke don’t fix it until it could destroy the world’ kinda guy too. But that note in the beginning said this was partly organised by the Fates. So maybe it would be ok to at least think about it.

**Some connection...But I decided not to bring it up.**

“Good choice.” Thalia told him. 

“Besides, the last statue wasn’t sacred to a God.” Beckendorf pointed out.

“Was it not sacred to your dad?” Dakota asked.

“No. It was broken and in his junkyard. Not sacred.”

**"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said... "The dam snack bar?"**

“So Zoe started this joke you guys have?” Travis asked. They had always wondered why Percy, Thalia and Grover seemed to have an inside joke.

“Yeah but not deliberately. She didn’t even get the joke.” Grover laughed.

**Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"..."I could use some dam french fries."**

A few people snickered at this.

**Even Thalia smiled at that..."I do not understand."**

“Poor Zoe. She has no idea what she has done.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Hey, we needed a laugh right then.” Percy told her. She nodded. 

**"I want to use the dam water fountain,"..."Moooo."**

“Mooo?” Chris asked in confusion. Poseidon winced. He guessed the Ophiotaurus was back. That was not good. This must be the monster that Atlas wanted to find Thalia. So she could sacrifice it. 

**The smile melted off my face..."You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."**

“No. Don’t separate.” Apollo groaned. 

“Apollo is correct. That is a bad idea.” Hermes nodded. 

“Actually it might be better for Thalia to go inside.” Artemis said. Everyone except Poseidon looked at her in surprise.

“Why?” Zeus asked, a little angrily.

“Because she should not see that monster.” 

“What monster?” Ares asked.

“You’ll see in a moment, I suspect.” Poseidon told them.

**"What's wrong?" Grover asked...Bessie the cow serpent.**

Poseidon shook his head. He could not believe his son had named such a powerful and ancient monster ‘Bessie’. And yet, it was such a  _ Percy _ thing to do. Triton looked simply bemused. 

“Why would the creature he rescued have followed him across the country?” Athena wondered, looking thoughtful.

**I looked around...She was telling me to hurry.**

Poseidon frowned. He wondered why the Ophiotaurus had taken such a liking to Percy, even if he had saved it.

“You should leave.” Hermes warned.

**"I can't," I told her...They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies.**

“That’s not good.” Reyna said. “Bianca…” She stopped herself with a quick glance at Nico.

“Yeah. You definitely need to find the others and get out.” Annabeth nodded. 

**They passed through a...I was surrounded.**

“Fantastic!” Poseidon groaned in annoyance.

“They are travelling by van?” Athena frowned. “That makes no sense. A van could not have caught up with a train as quickly as they did before. Especially with a God increasing the speed of the train. Nor should the van have caught you up after riding the boar.”

“Well, after the boar they did stop and have to make their way through the junkyard. But they shouldn’t have caught up to the train that quickly.” Apollo agreed. “Not in a van.”

“Maybe Atlas sped them up too?” Percy suggested.

“They would still have to deal with general traffic and such.” Annabeth pointed out. Everybody shrugged. They didn’t know.

**I bolted down the stairs..."Hey, kid!" But I didn't stop.**

“Why would you set off a metal detector?” Triton wondered. “Your sword should be hidden by the mist.”

“When does the mist ever work in my favour?” Percy asked. Triton shrugged. 

“Fair point.” 

**I ran through the exhibits...Where was the dam snack bar?**

The Stolls snickered.

**"Stop!" The metal-detector guy yelled...the elevator hardly ever breaks."**

“Comforting. I feel like she didn’t need to add that last part.” Piper muttered.

**"Does this go to the snack bar?"...Something about her gaze made my skin tingle.**

“Not another one of you interfering?” Zeus groaned. Why bother with rules at all? 

“They are going to need some divine intervention or they will be killed by the skeleton warriors.” Apollo pointed out. “Your daughter included.” Zeus grumbled at this but made no further comment.

**"To the turbines, young man,"...The only way out is the other elevator."**

“That’s not good.” Hephaestus grunted.

**The doors opened..."There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it."**

“Athena!” This time it was Hera who exclaimed unhappily.

“They are looking for my daughter.” Athena said simply. Annabeth smiled at her mom who nodded in return.

**The doors closed...I didn't.**

Poseidon, Apollo and Triton nodded appreciatively at this.

**Another tour guide was…like the voice of a skeleton.**

Rachel smirked.

**Without thinking...when they blow their nose?"**

“Why yes...yes I do.” Percy told her with a laugh. Rachel grinned.

“I can’t believe you thought me blowing my nose was the same as a skeleton’s voice.” She said.

“Yeah. How do those sound alike?” Grover asked with a laugh.

“I was on edge alright?” Percy told him. “Besides, it’s not like it hurt.”

“Physically. Do you know how freaked out I was that some random guy had just tried to kill me?” Rachel put on a serious face but could only hold it for a few seconds.

**The first thing that...sword past security?"**

“He just ran past and didn’t stop.” Will chuckled.

“So the guard was just more worried about a random kid running in without going through security. The mist did protect the sword.” Annabeth stated, thinking about it. Everybody nodded.

**"I didn't—Wait, you can see it's a sword?"...like she spent her free time poking them with a fork.**

“How did you guess?” Rachel asked dramatically.

“You poke your clothes with a fork?” Dakota asked in confusion.

“No.” Rachel rolled her eyes.

“So why do they have so many holes?” Gwen wondered. Rachel just shook her head.

**"Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world," she said.**

Everybody laughed at this.

**"And why didn't it hurt me?...Is that made of lion fur?"**

“That’s a lot of questions and not a lot of time for him to answer them.” Will told Rachel while trying not to laugh.

“Well, when a random guy comes up, wearing a lion fur coat and tries to kill me with a sword, I think I’m entitled to a few questions.” Rachel shot back.

“Of course you can ask them. It might be helpful to give him time to actually answer though.” Chris smirked.

**She asked so many...could manipulate the Mist.**

“Not going to work.” Rachel said in a sing-song voice.

“It is nearly impossible to manipulate the Mist with no training.” Hestia told Percy kindly.

“Plus Rachel can see through the Mist so it wouldn’t work anyway.” Annabeth added. 

**I concentrated hard and..."Um… no. It's a sword, weirdo."**

Everybody laughed again.

**"Who are you?" I demanded..."In a hurry or in trouble?"**

“Both. Always both.” Percy sighed.

“One does usually follow the other.” Thalia told him.

**"Um, sort of both."...I don't know why, but I listened to her.**

“Oh sure. You listen to the random mortal.” Annabeth frowned. Rachel scowled at the daughter of Athena. Aphrodite watched the proceedings with glee. Not even a love triangle. There was a fourth element. This was getting better by the second.

“I listen to you too. Eventually.” Percy grinned.

“Yeah, eventually. You listened to her without even hesitating.”

“Maybe I just wanted to avoid more of her questions.”

“You never did answer them properly. You just ran off.” Rachel reminded him.

**I slipped inside the boys' bathroom...I'm also pretty sure it saved my life.**

“It wasn’t cowardly. They wouldn’t care about mortals.” Apollo told him. “They should just leave her alone.”

**I heard the clattering...rapid-fire machine gun way of hers.**

“I do not…” Rachel started to protest.

“Yeah. It sounds like you kinda do.” Clarisse told the girl. 

**"Oh my god! Did you see that kid?...But you'd better hurry."**

“Thank you.” Poseidon said to the mortal girl.

“Anytime.” She smiled in return.

**She looked shaken..."Forget it. Forget you ever saw me."**

“I feel like that would be rather difficult.” Nico said with a strained smile. Will squeezed his hand, glad that he was finally up to talking again.

“Yeah. That would be hard to forget.” Katie agreed.

**"Forget you tried to kill me?"**

**"Yeah. That, too."**

More laughter.

“Never going to happen.” Rachel snickered.

“I noticed.” Percy groaned.

**"But who are you?"..."Now!" But we just got our burritos!"**

“I think skeleton warriors are more important than food.” Reyna said.

“Yeah. But they looked like really good burritos.” Thalia sighed mournfully.

“Oh this was awesome.” Percy grinned.

“Yeah. Shame we couldn’t stay.” Grover said.

**Thalia said. Zoe stood up...skeletal army that had come to kill us.**

“Lovely. Just the kind of view I always wanted.” Silena said sarcastically.

“It’s probably Nico’s dream view.” Percy grinned at the younger boy. “I can just imagine his bedroom being covered in mythomagic posters and undead monsters.” Nico went red.

**I counted two on...We were completely surrounded.**

“How the Hades do you get out of this mess?” Beckendorf wondered.

“Grover.” Percy grinned. “And we had a little extra help.” Zeus glared around wondering which God would interfere next.

**Then Grover had a brilliant...Guacamole Grande at the nearest skeleton.**

“You escaped by causing a food fight?” Leo laughed. “Brilliant.” 

“I’m sensing a theme in this quest. First Percy beats the Nemean Lion with space food. Now you guys escape due to a food fight.” Piper smiled. 

**Now, if you have never been hit...grenades and cannonballs.**

“What?” Reyna frowned.

“They pack one heck of a punch.” Grover nodded seriously.

**Grover's lunch hit the skeleton and knocked his skull clean off his shoulders.**

“Ok, yeah. That’s pretty awesome.” Jason grinned. 

“It was great. I got there a bit later and there was still a huge food fight going on.” Rachel told everyone. “It took the workers ages to stop it.”

**I'm not sure what the other kids...Bodies and food and drinks were flying everywhere.**

“That is so wicked.” Leo said. 

“But I’d leave quickly.” Beckendorf added.

“Definitely.” Will agreed.

**In the chaos...Two more had burritos lodged in their rib cages.**

More laughter. 

“That must have looked...interesting.” Nico said.

“It looked hilarious. It was just hard to appreciate given that they were about to kill us. Looking back it was great.” Percy said.

**They didn't look happy about it…"This isn't the time."**

“It’s exactly the time.” Athena stated, looking towards her father. She hid a smirk, anticipating his reaction to finding out he had interfered on a quest himself.

**But I couldn't help...There is always a way for those clever enough to find it.**

“Good catch.” Annabeth smiled.

“Percy is very smart.” Tyson beamed.

**"Thalia," I said. "Pray to your dad."..."He won't answer me."**

“It’s not like you have any other options.” Jason reminded his sister.

  
Zeus frowned. Would he help? Would he break his own rules and interfere on a quest to save his daughter? He had already saved her from dying once. And, in his heart, Zeus knew he would do it again. If, in the future, he was willing to interfere then maybe changing the rules wouldn’t end in disaster.

**"This time is different!"...And nothing happened.**

“WHAT?” Poseidon looked towards his brother. Artemis was also looking very unhappy.

“You’re not going to save your own daughter?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” Thalia pointed out. Zeus looked up at that. Yes. Thalia was alive and so clearly somebody had intervened. But why wouldn’t he? Hera smirked triumphantly. At least her husband would not be foolish enough to help on a quest.

**The skeletons closed in...and folded their wings like shields.**

Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis all let out sighs of relief while Hera looked enraged.

“You broke your own rules! You interfered on a quest! How dare you!?” She screeched.

“She is my daughter.” Zeus stated firmly. 

“She is a ridiculous mortal who should never have been born!” The furious Queen of the Gods continued to rage.

“Enough!” Zeus thundered. “Thalia is my daughter. I would not have her die before her time.” Hera spluttered and grumbled but she knew not to test her husband further on the subject. She would simply have to try other methods. 

**Bullets pinged off of them...bony hands groping for their weapons.**

“Time to go.” Reyna said.

**"Trouble!" I said…echoing off the sides of the mountains.**

Jason gave his sister a sympathetic look. That had to be hell for her. Sure, it was better than dying, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t terrifying all the same. 

“Chapter’s done.” Silena announced.

“That makes it my turn.” Gwen said cheerfully. She took the book from her half sister.


	16. I Wrestle Santa’s Evil Twin

People burst out laughing at this.

“What?” Piper asked.

“Nereus.” Percy explained. “It’s who Apollo told us to go and see to find out what monster Lady Artemis was hunting.” 

**"Tell me when it's over,"...kicked snow off one of the peaks.**

Thalia shuddered. “Thanks for lying.” She said to Percy.

“No problem.” He grinned.

**"Nah," I said. "Not that high."...They know how to party!"**

“Party?” Dionysus looked up with vague interest.

“They have no time to be partying.” Athena snapped.

“Oh.” He slumped back in his seat once more.

**"Oh, man," the other angel said..."They're kids, man."**

“That’s more than I ever wanted to know about statues.” Will muttered.

“Agreed.” Travis nodded.

**"Oh, right."...I told her. "Zeus listened."**

Thalia and Zeus exchanged small smiles with Hera silently seethed.

**It was hard to tell what...My mom was like that.**

“You only just realised your mom can see through the Mist?” Annabeth asked.

“I didn’t know mortals could until then. Except some kids.” Percy shrugged.

**She had seen the Minotaur...No wonder she'd been so scared for me as I was growing up.**

“Yeah that would be terrifying.” Thalia nodded. 

“Especially with all the fun Percy must have attracted.” Connor grinned.

  
“I wouldn’t call it fun.” Percy sighed.

**She saw through the Mist...That would've been bad."**

“Yes it would. I’m glad you didn’t vapourise me too.” Rachel nodded. 

“I regret that now.” Percy smirked.

“Hey!”

**Thalia nodded. "Must be nice to be a regular mortal." She said that as if she'd given it a lot of thought.**

“I don’t know.” Rachel frowned. “Being a mortal able to see through the Mist is pretty hard. I don’t get the explanation you guys did, until I met Percy again, but I saw all sorts of crazy stuff and nobody would believe me. I saw monsters and stuff but nobody around me could. It was horrible to be honest. At least you guys have powers and weapons to defend yourselves with.” 

A few of the demigods nodded at that. 

**"Where you guys want to land?”...Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog.**

The Romans all smiled, hearing about their city. They all missed Camp Jupiter. 

**I felt like I should take a picture or something...Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here.**

There was an outbreak of sniggering.

**"There," Zoe suggested...blend in with the pigeons."**

“Please tell me he’s joking?” Leo asked.

“Yeah. He was.” Percy nodded. 

**We all looked at him...what we were going to do next.**

“But Nereus only answers one question.” Athena pointed out.

“He barely does that.” Percy grumbled.

“Even if they know what the monster is, that does not help them find Artemis.” Apollo said.

“Zoe will know to go to Mount Othrys.” Artemis said, her voice heavy with regret.

**We'd made it to the West Coast...I'd completely forgotten my last conversation with the sun god.**

“How could you forget me?” Apollo asked dramatically.

“You know. I have no idea.” Percy said, entirely sincerely. “You are pretty difficult to forget. Maybe I tried to block out the poetry.” He suggested with a grin.

“Demigods these days. No respect.” Apollo sniffed. Then he grinned at Percy again and ruffled his hair.

**The old man of the sea,"...Just follow the smell."**

“The smell is pretty unfortunate but it’s good that he’s easy to find.” Poseidon pointed out. “You don’t have time to waste searching for him.”

**"What do you mean?" I asked…"you look completely inconspicuous now."**

Grover had no such restraint now. Nor did anybody else. Aphrodite, Silena and Gwen were all looking horrified while everyone else laughed. 

“Why would you dress like that?” Reyna asked through her laughter.

“It wasn’t my choice.” Percy grumbled. “Zoe thought I needed to look like a homeless person.”

“But I thought you were trying to be inconspicuous?” Annabeth pointed out. “That is  _ not _ inconspicuous.”

“Yeah. The shirt and jeans are one thing but the hat?” Piper said with a cringe. 

“I think that might have been a small amount of revenge for Zoe.” Thalia snickered.

**Zoe nodded with satisfaction...To blend in."**

“To what? The Hippie house?” Leo chuckled.

**She led the way back down...Force him to tell thee about the monster."**

“He can shapeshift which makes it tricky.” Poseidon stated.

**"We've got your back," Thalia said...from who-knows-where.**

“Ewwww.” Aphrodite and all her kids squealed. Piper was much less shrill about it than her mother and siblings.

“That’s disgusting.” Beckendorf said. 

“Yep.” Percy agreed. 

**"Eww. On second thought… I don't want your back. But we'll be rooting for you."**

There was another round of laughter.

“I don’t blame you.” Connor said to Thalia. “I don’t think anyone would want his back.”

**Grover gave me a big thumbs-up...like I was going to steal her birds.**

“Well, who wouldn’t?” Travis asked. 

“Pretty much anybody.” Katie told him. “Why would you even want to steal some plastic birds?” 

“You never know when they could come in handy.” Connor said solemnly.

“They could make a great distraction.” Chris agreed.

**At the end of the pier...dragged through a landfill.**

“That’s Nereus.” Poseidon stated grimly. 

“And you have to go and hold onto him?” Piper asked, wrinkling her nose.

“This was not my best day.” Percy admitted.

**And his smell?...this guy was it.**

Poseidon nodded.

**I tried not to gag...figuring that might sound reasonable.**

“Yeah, that’s pretty good.” Hermes nodded.

“Definitely something children complain about.” Chiron said dryly. Percy grinned.

**Santa Claus went back to sleep...But I jumped Santa Claus.**

“That is such a weird sentence.” Leo said, grinning broadly.

“Most of the sentences in these books have been weird.” Jason told him. “Even by demigod standards.”

“Yeah but...wrestling Santa? Or his evil twin?” Rachel was laughing. “That’s so cool.”

“It was many things but cool is not one of them.” Percy said firmly.

**"Ahhhhhl" he screamed...head slammed into a post.**

A few people, namely Apollo and Will, winced at this. 

“Were you alright?” Apollo asked anxiously.

“Just a bit dazed but I was fine.” Percy smiled.

**I was dazed for a second..."Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"**

“Because you know things.” Apollo rolled his eyes. 

**"Because you know everything!"**

Apollo high fived Percy.

**He growled and tried...I said. "Not the water!"**

“I know the sea makes you stronger, but won’t it make him stronger too?” Will frowned.

“Not really.” Percy shrugged. “Not sure why but it didn’t.”

“Unlike demigods, Gods and Titans do not need to be in their element to access all their power. We are at full strength wherever we are.” Poseidon explained. “He will already have been at full strength before he jumped into the water whereas Percy would then get a power boost.”

**The plan worked...and changed back to human form.**

“Nice.” Clarisse laughed.

**"Why won't you drown?"...I wanted him to feel like he'd put up a good fight.**

“That’s pretty nice of you.” Will said.

“Percy is nice. Percy is the best.” Tyson grinned happily.

“I also didn’t want him deciding I had cheated somehow and refusing to answer my question.” Percy said.

“Good idea.” Poseidon nodded.

**My friends ran down the steps from the pier...That's the rule."**

“So could you just let him go and then capture him again?” Annabeth wondered.

“No. He will simply disappear once he has answered the question.” Poseidon stated. “You would have to find him all over again and they do not have the time.”

**I looked at my friends...That's what I cared about most.**

Aphrodite squealed loudly while Annabeth went red and smiled at Percy.

“Thanks but the monster is more important.” She said.

“I know.” Percy sighed heavily.

**But then I imagined...The one Artemis was hunting."**

The Gods all nodded approvingly at his choice. Athena thought that this was another point in favour of his fatal flaw not being personal loyalty. If it were, he would have asked about Annabeth. Or at least, it should have been a much harder decision than it seemed to be.

Poseidon smiled proudly at his son. 

**The Old Man of the Sea..."You tricked me!" I yelled.**

“He wouldn’t do that.” Poseidon frowned. He guessed the Ophiotaurus must have found them again.

**"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened...gave me the sad brown eyes.**

“A monster powerful enough to bring down Olympus. That’s the Ophiotaurus.” Ares’ eyes widened. All of the Gods who had not worked this out looked at each other in horror. The Ophiotaurus had come back and was now with two children of the Big Three. 

“This is not good.” Athena stated. Zeus was watching his daughter. He recalled her saying something about almost making a huge mistake. Could it have something to do with the creature?

**"Ah, Bessie," I said. "Not now."**

“You named an Ophiotaurus Bessie?” Triton looked at Percy like he was completely insane. It was strange enough for any sea creature to have that name but such an ancient monster? His brother was  _ weird _ . 

**"Mooo!"...He says they are close."**

“Again?” Frank groaned. 

“That was like one ‘moo’. How did you get all of that from one noise?” Leo asked Grover in confusion.

“It’s animal talk. Hard to explain.” The Satyr shrugged.

**I was wondering how you got all that out of a single moooooo.**

Leo and Percy grinned at each other.

**"Wait," Zoe said, looking at me...Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.**

“In all fairness, I just thought I had rescued a monster that took to following me around.” Percy shrugged. “I didn’t know what it was.” 

“Yeah. I see why you didn’t mention it.” Thalia nodded. Such a small thing would have slipped her mind too.

**"I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly...He couldn't destroy the world."**

“It is not the monster that will destroy the world.” Poseidon sighed heavily.

“I know.” Percy nodded.

**"That is how we were wrong," Zoe said..."I don't think he likes the S-word," Grover said.**

“That’s probably why the Ophiotaurus got so freaked out when it saw your sword.” Annabeth said to Percy. He nodded.

“Yeah.” 

**I patted Bessie on the head...I mean, what would happen?"**

“Lets not find out.” Jason said, looking at his sister as if she were crazy.

**"No one knows," Zoe said...She almost looked… hungry.**

“She looked what now?” Jason stared at his sister.

“You were considering this?” Hera screeched. “See, she is not to be trusted!” She scowled at her husband.

“Thalia made the correct choice.” Zeus said firmly. He couldn’t deny that he was upset his daughter considered, even for a second, taking the power to destroy the Gods. However, she didn’t. She did what was right and he couldn’t ask for more than that. Plus it helped that she had already warned him this would happen. Not in precise terms but enough that he could be confident she didn’t sacrifice the creature. However, it was not a good sign it was back. The creature would have to be destroyed so Poseidon’s child did not get tempted. Or anyone else.

**"We have to protect him," I told her..."And it is a power you shall unleash."**

“Oh good. He’s back.” Clarisse scowled. “Please tell me you killed him.”

“Well…” Percy paused. “We had help. In fact, we didn’t do much at all.” He admitted.

**The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering..."This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.**

Gwen managed the french accent perfectly which made Aphrodite smile proudly.

**He was wearing a ratty black trench coat...guys down at the soup kitchen.**

The love Goddess wrinkled her nose in disgust.

**"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia,"...change his mind when I defeat you myself!"**

“Well that’s something. At least this dude can die.” Nico said.

“Yeah but they didn’t exactly win the last fight between them. And no Artemis to help this time.” Will reminded him.

**I needed time to think...you will overthrow Olympus."**

Everyone turned to look at Thalia.

“If I did that, do you think I would be here?” She snapped. “Especially considering it was two Gods who sent us back.” Everyone looked away again. 

**No one spoke. It made terrible sense...Doomsday was happening right now.**

“Why would you be disappointed about that?” Apollo asked.

“I wasn't really disappointed. It was more that I’d spent a while believing I was the kid of the prophecy so it was weird to find out I wasn’t.” Percy tried to explain. “It was something that had been expected of me since I joined the demigod world. It felt like part of my identity was being taken away. That sounds weird but I don’t know how else to describe it.” 

“Na. I get it.” Apollo nodded. 

**I waited for Thalia to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. She looked completely stunned.**

“What? Just tell him where he can stick his stupid plan.” Jason looked at his sister.

“Wanting power is her fatal flaw.” Annabeth reminded Jason quietly. “It’s not so simple for Thalia to make that choice.”

**"You know it is the right choice,"...He turned you into a tree to preserve you."**

Thalia nodded to herself. She didn’t remember being this out of it. It was weird listening to this from Percy’s point of view. Even more weird than the rest of it.

**Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear...but they ricocheted off my lion's coat.**

“So glad you fought that lion.” Apollo muttered.

“Me too.” Percy said.

**"Grover," I said, "tell Bessie to dive deep...Bessie got the message.**

“That’s probably what the Ophiotaurus wanted to do anyway.” Triton said, trying to ignore the continued use of the name ‘Bessie’.

**"The cow…" Thalia muttered...about to die and the world was going to end.**

“That seems to always be when you get the best view.” Annabeth sighed.

“Yep.” Percy agreed, grimacing at the mention of Alcatraz.

**"Go over the side!" Zoe told me...The fog seemed to clear from her eyes.**

“Thanks.” Thalia said to Percy.

“Anytime. Can’t have you stealing my prophecy.” He grinned. 

**"Are you crazy?" she asked...rummaging through the refrigerator.**

“Where’s Chiron when you need him?” Clarisse groaned.

“My father is far more likely to actually be able to help.” Dakota snapped. He hated how everyone seemed to disrespect his father’s Greek side. Yeah, he didn’t seem entirely wonderful but he was still a God.

“I was down at the cabins.” Chiron said unhappily.

**He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?"..."Is that how you say hello?"**

“They are possibly going to die and you’re worried about them saying hello?” Artemis glared at Dionysus.

“It wouldn’t kill them to be polite.” He muttered petulantly.

“It actually might.” Connor scowled at their Camp director.

**"Hello," I amended...but I knew that wouldn't work.**

Artemis, Poseidon, Apollo and Athena were all scowling at the wine God.

**Behind us, footsteps and shouting...but I told him about the Ophiotaurus.**

“Well that was the point of the call.” Katie said. “To tell Camp about the Ophiotaurus.”

“Yeah but I wasn’t convinced Mr D would even bother to mention it.” Percy said.

**"Mmm." He studied the contents of the fridge...mood for pizza tonight."**

“You need to actually ask for his help.” Poseidon told his son. “While, he should really help out anyway, you should at least ask rather than just getting angry.” Percy nodded unhappily.

“I just didn’t expect it to do any good.” He said.

**I wanted to slash through..."Alone, without any real help. Wonderful."**

“Even the monsters don’t think Mr D would help them.” Connor muttered to Travis.

**"You could ask for help,"...When wild boars fly, I thought.**

“Not the time to be prideful.” Annabeth scolded Percy. He glared at the floor.

**There was no way I was going to die begging a slob like Mr. D, just so he could laugh as we all got gunned down.**

“A slob?” Dionysus scowled. 

“I didn’t  _ say _ it.” Percy reminded him with a glare.

“He wouldn’t do that.” Apollo told Percy. “As long as you say please, he will help. He wouldn’t let you die for no reason.” 

“I’m not sure forgetting to say please is a valid reason to let us die either.” Thalia growled.

**Zoe readied her arrows..."Please, Mr. D," I muttered. "Help."**

Thalia stared at Percy in surprise. She had always wondered why he had suddenly changed his mind and it was such a  _ Percy _ thing to do. She was still only just beginning to realise how much he shouldered by himself. He was younger than her and yet he had still been looking out for her. Looking out for everybody. Even if it was just by talking to them, whether he wanted to or not, he  _ did _ . He took it upon himself to raise everyone’s spirits even when he was feeling miserable himself. He would sacrifice his pride in, what he thought was, a hopeless endeavour, simply to try and make sure she didn’t have to suffer again.

“Thank you.” She said simply. He shrugged, like this was something anybody would do.

“Don’t mention it.” 

Other people were having a similar revelation about Percy’s character. Even Dionysus was taken aback by the boy’s thoughts. He wouldn’t beg for himself but he would to keep the others safe. For a daughter of Zeus of all people. Maybe there was a  _ slight _ possibility he had  _ minorly _ misjudged the boy. 

**Of course, nothing happened.**

Suddenly the good mood was gone again and various, angry, Gods rounded on Dionysus.

“He did help. Eventually.” Percy told his enraged father. 

**The manticore grinned...I smelled grapes and something more sour—wine.**

Dakota smiled grimly. They all underestimated his dad but all he wanted was them to be polite to him. A simple please was all it had taken. Maybe if the Greeks tried a little less complaining about him and showed a little more respect, his dad would actually be a bit nicer to them.

**SNAP!...if it hadn't been so terrifying.**

“That is…” Leo trailed off. All of the demigods were looking at Dionysus in shock. While they knew he was a God, it was hard to think of him as anything other than God of wine. Even though he had cured Chris, it still surprised them that he was that powerful. 

Dionysus himself looked around at all the shocked faces with a mixture of annoyance and smugness. It felt good to have them remember that he was plenty powerful himself but it also angered him just how surprised they all were by the display.

**"No!" screamed the manticore..."How could you… How did you—"**

“Thank you for helping us.” Percy said to Dionysus who raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I was a bit too shocked to say it then. That was one heck of a display.” Dionysus nodded, accepting the apology. It seemed the brat was learning manners, even if it was a bit late. 

Poseidon smiled at Percy. He had come such a long way in the matter of a few days. 

“Well done.” He whispered to his son. Percy nodded and smiled happily.

**"Such gratitude," he muttered...I hate writing reports to Father."**

Zeus sighed. At least if his son was going to interfere, he did remember the other rules. Then he blinked at his own attitude. It seemed these books were finally having an effect on him. Or rather, hearing about his daughter nearly dying several times, was having an effect on him.

**He stared resentfully at Thalia...It isn't easy to resist power, is it?"**

“No. It’s not.” Thalia sighed.

**Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed...That's your problem."**

“The Ophiotaurus seems able to appear in random bodies of water. Could it not get itself to Camp?” Beckendorf wondered. “It’s already been pretty close.”

“No. Someone would need to go with it.” Artemis said.

**"But where do we go?"..."I must go home."**

Artemis sighed. 

“The chapter is over.” Gwen announced.

“That makes it my turn.” Dakota said. She handed him the book.

“We will have a short break after the next chapter and then hopefully we will finish this book today.” Chiron announced.

  
  



	17. We Meet the Dragon of Eternal Bad Breath

“Ladon.” Artemis breathed. 

**"We will never make it," Zoe said...We must free Lady Artemis tonight."**

“Well it’s not a Percy quest without almost running out of time.” Annabeth sighed.

“It’s not like we get a lot of time to achieve these quests. Especially considering we usually have to get to the other side of America.” Percy pointed out.

**Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.**

“Thanks for not mentioning that.” Grover said. 

“I figured you and Thalia had enough to worry about.” Percy shrugged.

**"We need a car," Thalia said..."I'll go with him."**

“That’s very brave of you.” Annabeth told him. 

“Someone had to go and I was the least powerful of everyone.” Grover said. “Plus I was the only one who could talk to the Ophiotaurus.” 

“Yeah. It would be kind of hard to direct without being able to talk to it.” Will said.

“Well, it could understand us. We just couldn’t understand in return.” Percy pointed out.

“Still difficult.” Nico stated. 

**I stared at him...grant us safe passage through the seas."**

Zeus glared at his brother. He did not want such power in his brother’s domain. Poseidon caught the look and rolled his eyes.

**I didn't understand how...Protect them at sea."**

“I’m sure I will.” Poseidon smiled.

**"A prayer like that needs...that's really helpful.**

“Yeah. It’s already saved your life at least twice.” Apollo said.

“True but it had done its job. Plus we had nothing else to give as a sacrifice.” Percy shrugged.

**Hercules used it!"...hero I'd admired all my life.**

“Definitely don’t anymore.” Percy muttered. Jason frowned. He’d always thought it was cool that Hercules was his half brother but now that didn’t sound like such a good thing.

**"If I'm going to survive,"...sunlight on the water.**

“So what happened to it?” Percy wondered.

“It would simply dissolve and not exist anymore until the next hero kills the Nemean Lion.” Poseidon told his son. “There is power in sacrifice so the item is essentially ‘used up’ when given in sacrifice.” He tried to explain it in terms the mortals could understand. Percy nodded. It sort of made sense.

**The sea breeze picked up...And… it's long.**

“Great description, Grover.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“We got there in the end.” Grover grinned sheepishly. 

**Oh, let's just start."...protection would extend to little things, like breathing.**

Poseidon chuckled.

  
“It would.” Triton stated, looking amused. “Father wouldn’t exactly be protecting them if he let your friend drown.” 

**"Well, that is one problem addressed,"...bound to get us noticed.**

“Not necessarily. Depends where you stole from.” Piper said. 

“You know this from experience?” Connor asked excitedly. Piper blushed.

“No. Of course not.” She said, sounding very unconvincing. Connor and Travis exchanged gleeful looks that Piper did not like at all.

**"Wait," Thalia said...Annabeth's dad."**

“I can’t believe you went to my dad.” Annabeth muttered.

“We needed help.” Thalia shrugged.

“I can’t believe you were so close.” Jason sighed, looking at his sister. They had been in the same city for hours. 

“Me either.” Thalia murmured. She gave Jason a sideways hug. 

**After hearing Annabeth gripe...have devil horns and fangs.**

“Really, Percy?” Annabeth giggled.

“Hey, you weren’t exactly flattering when you spoke about him.” Percy shrugged. Annabeth nodded, admitting this was true.

**I was not expecting him...step back on the front porch.**

A few people chuckled while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Does he wear that a lot?” Beckendorf asked.

“Yeah.” She sighed.

**"Hello," he said in a friendly voice...Has something happened?"**

Annabeth smiled slightly. She knew her dad did care but it was nice to know he did actually show it sometimes. Even if he didn’t actually show it to her.

**None of us answered... I guess, for an older guy,**

Annabeth gave Percy a weird look while Apollo grinned. 

**but it looked like he hadn't shaved...higher than the other side.**

“Of course it was.” Annabeth rolled her eyes again while most people laughed quietly.

“Your dad sounds pretty cool.” Leo grinned.

“Because he can’t dress himself properly?” She asked in exasperation.

“Yeah.” Leo nodded.

**"You'd better come in," he said...place that had been lived in forever.**

“Yeah. Ella works pretty fast.” Annabeth nodded.

“It was a nice house.” Thalia smiled. 

**"Dad!" a little boy screamed..."don't take apart your brother's robots!"**

“Are they like that a lot?” Percy asked.

  
“Yep.”

“Does your dad often get their names wrong?”

“Yep.” Annabeth sighed.

**"Okay, Dad!"..."You forgot to ask them their names?"**

A few people laughed. 

**We introduced ourselves a little uneasily...cookies and sandwiches and sodas.**

“Those were some good cookies.” Percy said. “Not as good as blue ones but definitely good.”

“They were awesome.” Thalia agreed.

**"Dear," Dr. Chase said...I've heard a lot about you."**

Annabeth and Percy both went red.

“She did  _ not _ need to say that.” Annabeth complained. 

“So you talk a lot about Percy but not about me? I’m hurt.” Thalia pouted.

“I hadn’t really seen them since you came back. We were at school.” Annabeth pointed out.

“Excuses, excuses.” Thalia sniffed.

**Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study...they were in the middle of a dogfight.**

“That sounds pretty cool.” Clarisse said grudgingly.

“It was definitely...interesting.” Percy said warily.

**Dr. Chase smiled...knocked down little German soldiers.**

“Oh gods.” Annabeth groaned. 

**"Oh, right," I said...mortal men fight each other.**

“Oh yes, because an immortal war is so pretty.” Thalia said sarcastically, not having been able to do so then.

**And how foolish, too...What formations did they fly?"**

“You’re running out of time.” Apollo grumbled.

“Yes, you need to hurry this up.” Athena agreed. Any other time she would have enjoyed hearing about one of the mortals who would catch her attention in the future. He certainly sounded interesting, if a little absent minded. But right now, she just wanted to hear about them finding her daughter safe and well.

**"Sir," Thalia broke in again...We were running out of time.**

“I’m not sure he needed to know everything. The cliff notes version would have done.” Hermes said. 

**When we'd finished...but it only seats two."**

“That would have been pretty cool.” Percy said.

“No it would not.” Thalia firmly disagreed.

**"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" I said...It's too dangerous." .**

“Definitely. Mount Othrys is not a place for a mortal.” Athena agreed.

**Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably...Dangerous or not, I… I can't just—"**

Annabeth smiled, recalling what her dad had done instead of coming with Percy, Thalia and Zoe. 

“I agree with Leo. Your dad is pretty cool.” Piper smiled slightly.

  
“Yeah. He is.” Annabeth agreed.

**"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced...the chocolate chips still gooey.**

“The best kind.” Percy said.

“Now I want cookies.” Leo complained.

“Me too.” Frank agreed.

“We will take a short break after this chapter and you can get some snacks.” Chiron said, rolling his eyes.

**Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies...hard for him to get that last part out.**

“Well, it can’t be easy for him to hear his daughter is in danger and he can’t do anything about it.” Apollo said fairly, glancing over at Will. 

“I can definitely vouch for the fact that it is awful.” Poseidon stated grimly. “It is the worst feeling, being unable to help.” He looked at his son sitting beside him.

**I waited for Mrs. Chase to say no..."Then they'd better get going."**

Annabeth raised an eyebrow in surprise. Her dad she could sort of understand. She did know he loved her even if he didn’t show it well. Her stepmom however, that was weird.

**"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up...weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat.**

“She’s not wrong.” Annabeth confirmed. Athena frowned. 

**The keys are hanging on the peg...Not a bad place, I thought.**

Percy and Annabeth smiled at each other. 

“Glad you went back?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She nodded.

**"I'll tell her," I promised..."The stuff koala bears eat?"**

“I’m impressed you actually knew that much.” Thalia laughed.

“I have no idea how I knew that.” Percy grinned.

**"And monsters," she said...beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."**

“He deserved worse.” Zeus grumbled. 

**"The General," I said..."The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.**

“Both.” Artemis said.

**"Both."...It looked like a cruise ship."**

“Luke’s ship is already there?” Hermes asked weakly. “That’s not good.”

“That means there is likely to be a lot of monsters around.” Apollo bit his lip in concern.

**Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"...like a canary-yellow grenade.**

Everyone looked towards Zeus. Hera in delight, everyone else in disgust or horror. Zeus himself was frozen. He could not believe that his future self would harm Thalia. He had already sent those statues to save her. He had turned her into a tree to prevent her from dying. Why on Olympus would he suddenly change his mind? Unless that stunt with the Ophiotaurus had shaken his belief in Thalia. Maybe he decided that she couldn’t be trusted. Right now, he knew she could but in the future...Who knew. He cringed. He did not want to think he had tried to kill Thalia.

“You would kill your daughter?” Hermes asked in confusion.

“That makes no sense. If father wanted Thalia dead he wouldn’t have sent the statues to save them earlier. No. This is a trick to turn Thalia against father.” Apollo said slowly. 

“Also, if he wanted to kill them he would have done it before now.” Athena added.

“Well that’s comforting.” Percy muttered.

**I probably would've been killed...which appeared over me.**

Poseidon made a choking sound.

“Thank you.” He said to Thalia.

  
“No problem.” She grinned. “I owed Percy.”

“You still owe me one.” Percy told her with a smirk.

“I do not.”

“Yeah. You owed me two.”

“I think saving your life covers both of those.”

“No. You asked me to speak to an upset Zoe. That’s risking my life.” Percy told her.

**I heard a sound like metal ram...that couldn't have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."**

Zeus looked at his nephew in surprise. After the amount of times he had tried to kill the boy, he defended him to his daughter?

“Well, Percy would know. He has experience in that department.” Connor joked. Poseidon and Apollo both glared at him.

**"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded...No sign of her.**

Artemis stiffened. Had that been Atlas’ lightning bolt. She had assumed the prophecy meant killed by his hand literally...in combat. Maybe this was it?

**"Zoe!" I shouted..."Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?"**

The Goddess let out a sigh of relief. 

“Yeah, being quiet would be good.” Clarisse nodded.

“They knew we were coming.” Percy shrugged.

“No need to let them know you had arrived though.” Apollo pointed out.

**"You mean we're here?"...make you angry at your dad."**

“You really pick interesting moments to have these conversations.” Annabeth told him.

“I didn’t want her facing Atlas, and Luke, being angry at Zeus.” Percy said. “Otherwise, I thought Luke might be able to convince her.”

“You thought I would give in?” Thalia looked angry.

“Look, I’m sorry, but you weren’t exactly convincing with the Ophiotaurus.” Percy pointed out. “With the lightning bolt as well and Luke being your old friend, I just wanted to make sure.” She nodded. It made sense.

**She took a deep breath...I mean real golden apples.**

“It was a beautiful place.” Thalia agreed.

**I can't describe why they...dragon coiled around the tree.**

“That wouldn’t be a good idea. Dragon or no.” Poseidon told his son.

“Yeah.” Percy sighed. “I guess they were enchanted.” The sea God nodded.

**Now, I don't know what you think of when I say dragon.**

Leo sighed sadly. He missed Festus. While it was going to be cool having him as the figurehead of the Argo II, it wasn’t the same.

**Whatever it is, it's not scary enough...He appeared to be asleep.**

“He won’t be for long.” Artemis warned.

**The heads lay curled in a big...probably very dangerous.**

“Yep.” Apollo nodded.

“Definitely dangerous.” Hermes agreed. “You do not want to annoy those girls.” 

“What did you do?” Ares asked eagerly.

“Nothing.” Hermes said, a little too quickly.

**"Sisters," Zoe said..."I do not see why he is a threat."**

“You clearly haven’t seen him angry.” Thalia muttered.

“Or just seen him fight.” Annabeth added.

**"Who said I was a threat?"...has not yet killed thee."**

“It’s been pretty tempting sometimes but I wouldn’t do that.” Thalia laughed.

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to.” Percy told her.

“Of course I…”

“Enough. Dakota, keep reading or we’ll be here all day.” Annabeth cut across Thalia’s reply. He quickly obliged.

**She pointed at Thalia.**

“To be honest she could have meant Zoe as well.” Jason said. 

“True.” Percy nodded.

**"Tempting sometimes,"..."We must approach the mountain."**

“Somehow I don’t think they are going to let you pass.” Katie sighed.

“That would be too easy.” Will agreed.

**"You know he will kill thee," the girl said..."He will not hurt me," Zoe said.**

Thalia and Percy exchanged sad smiles. Ladon might not have killed Zoe but he had certainly hurt her enough for Atlas to do so.

**"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"..."Ladon! Wake!"**

“Why would you wake a dragon up?” Reyna asked.

“To get the Hesperides to leave. They were too afraid of Ladon.” Percy said grimly.

**The dragon stirred..."Are you mad?"**

“I think so.” Gwen muttered. Who deliberately woke a dragon up?

**"You never had any courage, sister,"...he should ignore thee."**

“You forget you have Percy in the group.” Annabeth said warily. “His luck usually means the monster wants to eat him anyway.” 

“No my luck acted up later.” Percy said. Poseidon and Apollo both groaned and resigned themselves to another heart attack inducing chapter.

**"Should," I said. "Not exactly reassuring."**

“No but it’s the best plan you guys have.” Clarisse pointed out.

“It’s actually quite a Percy style plan.” Travis noted.

**"It is the only way," she said...nurse for another cough drop.**

“That sounds awful.” Piper wrinkled her nose.

“It was truly disgusting.” Thalia agreed. 

  
“Better or worse than Nereus?” Leo asked curiously. Percy considered.

“Hmm, they were both gross. Ladon was probably worse though.”

**I wanted to draw my sword...I decided to trust Zoe's judgment.**

“Good idea.” Apollo nodded.

**Thalia went left. I went right...The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."**

“She is braver than any of you.” Artemis hissed angrily. 

**"I used to feed thee by hand,"...I felt the dragon's mood shift.**

“He probably realised Zoe is no longer a Hesperid.” Artemis said sadly. “He was confused because he recognised her voice at first but now he knows her only as an enemy.”

“Poor Zoe.” Piper said. It sounded like Zoe had really loved that dragon and now he considered her an enemy. Her dislike for Heracles grew, as did her sympathy for Zoe Nightshade.

**Maybe Zoe got too close...I drew Riptide to help.**

“That won’t help. It’ll just get you killed.” Poseidon said in concern.

“It’s ok. I listened to Zoe.” Percy assured his dad.

**"No!" Zoe panted. "Run!"...prospect of eating some heroes.**

“Good.” Beckendorf said. “You really don’t need a dragon on top of Kronos’ army.”

“And Atlas himself.” Nico added.

**We ran up the mountain...more like the sound track for a funeral.**

Percy, Thalia, Artemis and Annabeth all grimaced sadly. Artemis briefly considered that this was another prophetic thought from the son of Poseidon but got distracted by the thought that Zoe would die soon.

**At the top of mountain were ruins..."You're hurt," I said. "Let me see."**

“That’s not good. Is the dragon poisonous?” Will asked.

“Yes.” Apollo answered his son gravely.

**"No! It is nothing. I was saying..."Where he used to hold up the sky."**

“How are you planning on getting him back under the sky? I doubt he will go willingly.” Clarisse wondered.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Percy grinned.

“In other words, you didn’t have a plan at all?” Connor asked.

“Pretty much.” Thalia nodded.

**We had reached the summit...her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains.**

Apollo ground his teeth in both anger and concern. Zeus was also frowning in worry at the state of his daughter.

**This is what I had seen in my dream...You must leave now."**

“That’s not going to happen.” Grover said.

“I know.” Artemis sighed.

**Her voice was strained...clearly too much for Artemis.**

Percy glanced at Apollo who was practically vibrating with rage. He tentatively put his hand on the God’s arm and squeezed it. Apollo was always so good at making him feel better he wanted to return the favour but he wasn’t sure how. Percy was relieved when the God gave him a small smile.

**Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests...sword to her throat.**

Athena hissed out several angry curses while Hermes sunk down in his seat once more.

“At least there doesn’t seem to be that many monsters around.” Connor pointed out.

“They could be hiding.” Clarisse suggested.

“I was trying to look on the bright side.” Connor told her.

  
“And I’m being realistic.” She shot back.

**I met her eyes, trying to ask her...she was sending me, though: RUN.**

“You should know that was never going to happen.” Percy told her.

“I just didn’t want you or Thalia getting hurt.” Annabeth sighed.

**"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."..."Do not challenge him."**

Poseidon suddenly looked at Percy who was grimacing. He bit back a groan and once again reminded himself that his son was somehow still alive.

**"Wait a second," I said. "You're Atlas?"**

“You hadn’t realised that?” Athena asked scornfully.

“I had other stuff on my mind.” Percy grumbled.

**The General glanced at me..."I won't let you."**

Artemis smiled sadly. She appreciated the boy’s willingness to protect her Lieutenant but you could not stop prophecy.

**The General sneered..."Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."**

“Who cares. I don’t judge people on who their parents are.” Percy shrugged. 

“Chapter’s done.” Dakota said.

“Ok, let’s have a quick break.” Chiron stated. Everyone jumped out of their seats and headed to the dining hall. Percy hung back and grabbed Apollo.

“You ok?” He asked. The sun God heaved out a huge sigh.

“Yeah. I just hate hearing Arty in danger and being able to do nothing.” He admitted. “She should have taken me with her and let me help.” 

“Who knows. You might have been captured too. Then who would have helped us get the train?” Percy asked. “Maybe you were where you needed to be to help Artemis. You helped us.”

“Maybe.” Apollo agreed slowly. Percy did have a point. It didn’t feel like anything close to enough but at least he  _ had  _ done something. “Thanks.” He smiled at the demigod. He wondered when he should talk to Percy about his feelings. Naturally he wanted to do it as soon as possible but he simply wasn’t sure enough about Percy’s feelings. Apollo wasn’t one to be shy but he did not want to screw this up. He could wait until it was the perfect time. Which wasn’t now. That conversation would require a much longer break. Still, he reached out and pulled Percy into a hug. “Maybe Thalia is right. You do have some kind of superpower.”

“Oh shut up.” Percy laughed against his chest and Apollo didn’t want to let him go. Unfortunately he had to. He pulled away.

“Come on. Let’s go and get some food before we run out of time. I fancy cookies now too.” Apollo mused. Percy nodded and they headed off to the dining hall.

Artemis watched her brother and the son of Poseidon from a distance. She had suspected something for a while and she was concerned for her brother. His record with mortals was not good and she did not want either of them getting hurt. She was surprised to find, she was actually a little concerned for Percy too. He was definitely her favourite male demigod, which wasn’t difficult, and she respected him. The son of Poseidon had done a lot for her Hunters. She resolved to speak with Apollo when they finished for the night.

Everyone was back in the throne room only twenty minutes after they stopped reading. It was at the part of the book that everyone just wanted to get out of the way. They knew there was another death coming and Zeus was rather concerned. He knew that he didn’t kill Thalia because she was here, but it bothered him she thought he would. They had already spoken about this but that didn’t mean he had to like reading about it.

“I think it’s Dionysus’ turn to read.” Poseidon stated. The wine God grumbled but picked the book up and began reading in a bored tone.


	18. I Put On a Few Million Extra Pounds

Poseidon’s eyes went wide. As did Apollo’s.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Poseidon asked his son.

“Err...maybe?” Percy offered weakly. Zeus scoffed to himself. The girl was one thing but to think that this  _ boy _ could be strong enough to do what his son had done was ridiculous. Although this whole book seemed to have been about his nephew copying what his son had done. 

The Roman demigods were watching Percy warily, wondering just how powerful he could be. He came across as powerful, which was expected as a son of Neptune, but also kind of goofy. But then once in a while they would read about something that should just be completely impossible and he not only made it possible, but he often made it look easy too. Every time they thought he had reached his limit, he did something even more ridiculous. 

“You held the sky?” Apollo asked bluntly, looking terrified. If Percy had held the sky then there would be consequences. Mortals were not supposed to hold the sky and to do so came at a price. It took great strength to do and that strength had to come from somewhere. Usually the mortal’s lifeforce. Percy’s life was going to be short enough, he didn’t need to be losing years of his life holding up the sky. Apollo couldn’t stand the thought. His hand twitched towards Percy, wanting to hide him away from all of the things that seemed to be trying desperately hard to kill him. 

“Yeah. Only for a few minutes.” Percy admitted.

“You are very brave.” Artemis told Percy while looking sympathetically at her brother. 

“I did what I had to do.” He shrugged. Given Ares’ curse it would have been fatal to stay in the fight. Not to mention they had needed Artemis’ power to even stand a chance. Even then it had been close and they had also needed Mr Chase. 

Poseidon gripped his son tightly. As if he hadn’t suffered enough already. Dionysus grew bored and began reading once more.

**The horrible thing was…good I'd come to appreciate.**

Artemis smiled slightly. She was glad that the boy had come to appreciate Zoe properly.

**"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded...I forbid you."**

Percy privately wondered if taking the sky would have saved Zoe. He guessed not because of the prophecy but still...he couldn’t help but wonder.

**Atlas smirked...almost taking off his fingers.**

Apollo chuckled lightly.

“Good for you, Arty.”

“Don’t. Call. Me. Arty.” She glared at him and he smirked. It felt good to have this familiar banter. It reminded him she was here and safe.

**"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled...It will teach those weaklings some humility."**

Zeus scowled and grumbled angrily under his breath.

**I looked at Annabeth...Her blond hair was now streaked with gray.**

Athena grimaced. A reminder that her daughter had held up the sky. It was incredible that it hadn’t killed her. The grey would fade but the toll that holding the sky will have taken would not.

Everyone turned to look at Annabeth who’s grey streak was quite prominent now everyone was looking for it. Even the Greek demigods hadn’t paid it much attention. They knew the story that the two of them had held the sky but it hadn’t seemed quite real despite the evidence. Reading about this gave them an even greater appreciation for Percy and Annabeth.

**"From holding the sky,"..."The weight should've killed her."**

“Yes. The usual rules don’t seem to apply to you lot.” Hermes commented with a strained smile.

“Percy’s infectious.” Annabeth laughed.

“In this case that’s a very good thing.” Thalia told her. She nodded.

**"I don't understand," I said...I said. "And let's see."**

“Nooo. Percy!” Poseidon complained. His son was going to be the death of him. He just knew Percy was going to challenge Atlas.

“Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly. That did  _ not  _ make him feel any better.

**"Have the gods taught you nothing?...I will have Luke crush you instead."**

“Luke wouldn’t be able to take Percy and Thalia. Let alone Zoe too.” Connor scoffed.

“Maybe not but he does have his army there somewhere.” Clarisse reminded him.

“Yeah. That will make things difficult.” Nico scowled.

**"So you're another coward," I said...I almost would've felt sorry for him.**

Hermes swallowed harshly. 

“You were wrong.” Jason snapped.

**"Thalia, you still can join us...more I was sure I could hear Bessie mooing.**

“Stop thinking about the Ophiotaurus or you will summon it.” Artemis told him.

“Yeah but trying not to think about something just makes you think about it more.” Percy sighed. 

**Don't think about him!...Anything but Bessie.**

Poseidon nodded.

**"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus,"...All those times we cursed the gods?**

Zeus frowned and looked over at his daughter while Hermes cringed. Athena watched her own daughter, wondering if she had taken part in these discussions. It sounded like she had a fairly decent relationship with Annabeth but it was difficult to know for sure.

**Our fathers have done nothing for us...The three of us together.**

“That’s not letting Annabeth go.” Connor said angrily. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that Annabeth would have joined Luke voluntarily, especially if Thalia had done so. 

**Fighting for a better world...He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."**

“What other way?” Athena wondered.

“Nothing good.” Percy grimaced. He guessed Luke had meant him turning into Kronos was the other method. He felt bad for Hermes. They found out that Luke was Kronos right before they watched Pan fade. That was going to be a grim few chapters for one of his favourite Gods.

**I didn't know what he meant...Thalia might believe it, too.**

Hermes blinked rapidly. His suspicion was growing about what Luke was going to have to do and it hurt to even briefly consider. Part of him wanted Thalia to agree to go with him, if only because she, along with Annabeth, probably had the best chance of bringing him back. 

Jason took his sister’s hand and squeezed it. He knew this had to have been horrible for her and he was so glad she had made the right choice no matter how painful it must have been. She offered him a wobbly smile but it was a smile nevertheless which made him happy.

**"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned...it will be stronger and greater than Olympus.**

Zeus and several of the other Gods scoffed at this. Nothing was stronger or greater than Olympus.

**Look, Thalia. We are not weak."...In a few minutes, they would be here.**

“Best hurry up then.” Clarisse said tightly. 

“Yes. Stop talking and kill him.” Zeus told his daughter. Hermes, Annabeth and Thalia all flinched.

**"This is only a taste of what...she wanted in the world was to believe him.**

“It was.” Thalia whispered raggedly. She just wanted one of her best friends back. It had been so unbelievable that the Luke she had spent so long on the run with could turn into this shadow of himself.

**Then she leveled her spear...I don't know you anymore."**

Zeus let out a quiet sigh of relief. While he rationally knew that his daughter had made the right choice, it made him very uncomfortable to hear how close it had been. Still he was proud. She had overcome her fatal flaw, with some help which he chose to ignore, and managed not to be persuaded by one of her friends. 

Annabeth gripped Thalia’s other hand as she tried desperately not to cry. Part of her had hoped that once Thalia got there Luke would change his mind. That between Thalia and herself they could convince Luke he was being crazy. Her hopes had been dashed once again and it hurt reading about it.

**"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded...Don't make him destroy you."**

“As if you could.” Jason scoffed. He had complete faith his sister could thrash the annoying son of Hermes in a fight. Whether she actually  _ would _ he wasn’t quite sure. It was one thing not to join her old friend. It was quite another to then kill him.

**There was no time...Thalia went straight for Luke.**

Zeus and Hermes both frowned in great concern. Thalia moved to that she was hugging Annabeth, the two of them mourning their lost friend. Hearing about this encounter was opening barely healed wounds that they had been trying desperately to ignore.

Connor was startled to see a single tear glistening on Annabeth’s cheek. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her cry. It made him hate his half brother even more. He felt at a loss. Normally he would try to cheer the room up with a joke or funny trick. However Connor knew that would not work in the current mood and he had no idea how to make anyone feel better without the use of comedy. He was no good at consoling upset people. That was Travis’ area. Even Thalia looked close to tears and he wondered if Luke was proud of what he had done to the two people who had looked out for him and still believed he could see reason.

**The power of her shield...Luke was still quick with his sword.**

Hermes wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. 

**He snarled like a wild animal...frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.**

Zeus smiled grimly. He was certain his daughter could best the traitor.

**As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life,**

Quite a few people groaned.

“That’s a pretty big claim, Perc.” Grover told him, attempting a smile.

“Trust me. I know.” Percy replied seriously.

“My son just charged the Titan general.” Poseidon muttered to himself. 

“I’m alive.” Percy offered, leaning closer to his dad. The sea God tightened his grip on Percy’s shoulders. Then Percy felt a warm hand grabbing his. Apollo was staring at him intently, eyes moving rapidly as he, once again, scanned him for injuries. Percy felt his face go red as he found himself holding hands with the sun God, who seemed to have no intention to let go. He told himself it was just stress. Apollo clearly cared for his well being and Artemis was there too. It was nothing more than that.

**which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.**

“Of course you did.” Chiron sighed. 

“Just because you  _ can _ does not mean you  _ should _ challenge Gods or Titans to a fight.” Beckendorf said, glancing at Ares who looked a bit too gleeful for his liking.

**He laughed as I approached...Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his might.**

“Might be helpful if someone freed Artemis.” Apollo suggested weakly.

“To free Artemis, they would have to take the sky. Or somehow force Atlas to do so which is unlikely.” Athena pointed out. Given the chapter title, it was clear the boy had chosen option one. Which surprised her. He did not seem the type to back out of a fight and allow someone else to take over, even a Goddess.

**I swung my sword...It was becoming real.**

The Gods, who weren’t busy worrying about their children, exchanged concerned looks. That was definitely not a good sign.

**"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully...that you could stand up to me?"**

“Watch who you’re calling petty.” Ares grumbled. It was bad enough they had read about the stupid brat beating him, by getting  _ lucky _ . Now that news seemed to be all over the immortal world. He would be a laughing stock. He knew he should have turned him into a rodent.

**The mention of Ares...When you need it most, your sword will fail you.**

“ARES!” Poseidon yelled furiously. The war God did not dare show the slight smugness he felt and instead cowered away from his uncle’s wrath. The sea God was up and advancing on him.

“Hey, it was Atlas’ fault. If he hadn’t mentioned me then Percy wouldn’t have remembered the curse so nothing would have happened.” Ares defended himself. 

“That does not excuse you! What if his sword fails him against Kronos? What if your curse causes the downfall of Olympus?” Poseidon’s scowl somehow managed to increase in intensity. Apollo’s expression wasn’t far behind but he had remained seated. 

“We know he succeeds.” Ares pointed out.

“Not the point!” Poseidon roared.

“Father. Maybe this could wait until we are positive the children are safe.” Triton ventured. Obviously they knew the kids all made it out because they were here but he didn’t add that part. 

Artemis heaved a heavy sigh. Not all of them were going to make it out safely. Zoe...her faithful Zoe was going to die.

Poseidon turned to look at his son, eyes still blazing. It took quite a force of will for Triton not to flinch under his gaze, even if the anger was not aimed at him. Because of his generally jovial nature, people often forget just how wrathful his father could be. Eventually he nodded.

“When this chapter is over, you and I are going to talk.” He told Ares. The war God nodded weakly.

“I think we should break for the night after this chapter.” Chiron put in. They had not gotten very far in the reading today at all but he suspected that talk was going to be a long one. There was no way Poseidon would be persuaded to postpone either so they might as well have an early night and get started early the next morning. They had barely even gotten through half the book, even with the slow start. Still, it wasn’t as if they were short on time. And this book had been much more emotionally charged than the others. Not to mention it was only going to get worse. 

**Not now! I pleaded...still straining under the weight of the sky.**

Poseidon continued to glare at Ares while Apollo stared at his sister in concern. She shot him a reassuring smile.

**"Run, boy," she told me...desperately struggling to free her hands.**

Athena inhaled sharply as she realised exactly how defenceless her daughter was. She had no weapon  _ and _ her hands were bound. With an army arriving any minute. The wisdom Goddess had to glance across to where her daughter was still huddled with Zeus’ daughter to reassure herself that Annabeth had somehow gotten out of this alive.

**"Die, little hero," Atlas said...armpit chink in Atlas's armor.**

Poseidon broke his glare to nod gratefully in Artemis’ direction. She gave him a strained smile in return. The price of defending the boy would be Atlas’ attention on Zoe. And she knew how that ended. 

**"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter..."Give it to me."**

Even though it was obvious he had held the sky, Artemis was still taken aback by the offer. A male hero who knew his weaknesses and allowed someone else to take over instead of simply fighting on anyway? This boy was definitely different. He might even be good for her brother. If they could get past the myriad of issues facing them.

Poseidon once again wrapped his arm around Percy and held him tightly.

**"No, boy," Artemis said…You will not last so long."**

“I was wrong.” Artemis said quietly. “You have more than enough spirit.” Percy stared at her in amazement.

“Thank you.” He replied, knowing Artemis could have given him no higher compliment. It was up there with when she had called him a man instead of a boy.

**"I'll die anyway," I said...Artemis and I bore the weight together.**

Apollo thought he might be sick. He closed his eyes and focused on the hand that was still in his. That didn’t help. With his eyes closed he could picture a slightly younger Percy crouching next to his sister, trying to hold the sky. Something cold twisted in his gut and he forced his eyes open, shaking his head to clear away the images. The hand squeezed his.

“You ok? You don’t look so hot.” Percy whispered.

“I always look hot.” Apollo replied automatically. Percy smirked at him. 

“Debatable.”

“Oi! Besides, shouldn’t I be asking you that? You were holding the sky.”

“True but I survived and right now you look like you’re about to puke.”

  
“I’m fine.” 

“Really fine or my kind of fine?” Percy joked. Apollo’s lips twisted in amusement.

“You’re kind of fine I suppose. But I’ll be alright.” He said.

“Of course you will.”

**It was the heaviest thing...and I held it alone.**

Everyone stared at Percy. 

“You actually…” Beckendorf couldn’t finish the sentence. Once again, hearing about it through gossip was nothing like actually reading about the event from Percy’s point of view.

“Yeah.” Percy said.

“But... _ Gods _ .” Katie breathed in astonishment. Nobody was quite sure why this felt so different to knowing Annabeth had held the sky. Maybe it was because Percy hadn’t really known what was happening then. There was just some vague description. Plus, it had been a dream. There was a chance that wasn’t actually happening, not a very high chance but a chance nevertheless. This could not be doubted. Percy was holding the sky voluntarily. He knew it could, and probably would, kill him.

Dionysus stared at the boy. This was the second time in short succession he had been proved wrong about the damn boy. He had known he couldn’t win so swallowed his pride and let someone else take over. Even if it killed him. The wine God didn’t know what to think and he didn’t like it. He didn’t want to acknowledge that heroes, especially Poseidon’s brats, were not all alike. 

“I’m not sure if I should thank you or smack you.” Apollo said casually. “You did save my sister but that’s the second time in _one damn_ _chapter_ you’ve gone for the record of stupidest thing you’ve ever done.” 

“What can I say? I don’t like doing things the easy way.” Percy said.

“Understatement.” Reyna muttered. “That was insane even for you.” Percy thought about what had happened in Mount St Helens the following summer. 

“Yeah. It’s only going to get worse.”

“ _ Worse _ !” Choked Poseidon. 

“Err, yeah.” Percy grimaced. Dionysus finally took pity on him and started reading once more.

**Afterward, I tried many...the sky's weight crushing me.**

Almost everybody winced at this. Annabeth was nodding. She could recall that feeling only too well.

“You’re doing a pretty good job of explaining it there.” She said.

“Not sure how. I don’t remember thinking any of this.” Percy shrugged. 

**Fight back! Grover's voice said inside my head...I could hold the sky.**

Nico looked over at Percy. He had used Bianca for inspiration. To give him strength. It made him indescribably sad and yet it also made him smile.

**My vision turned fuzzy...Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain.**

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

“I believe you are correct.” She said. “It is impressive that you noticed that much.”

“Seriously how could you notice anything going on?” Annabeth asked. “I could barely focus on breathing, let alone what was going on around me.”

“You were actually talking to Luke, asking him to help. I couldn’t make a sound.” Percy pointed out.

**Zoe shot arrows at her father...wincing and growling in frustration.**

Zeus nodded proudly. 

**"Yield!" Thalia yelled..."Well see, my old friend."**

“That was a long time ago. He had six years extra to practise while you were a tree.” Clarisse pointed out. She didn’t add that he had the added advantage of not caring if he killed Thalia. She wouldn’t want to hurt him because they used to be friends but he didn’t have the same restraint.

“He still wouldn’t be able to beat Thalia.” Jason said confidently.

**Sweat poured down my face...welded together by a blowtorch.**

Poseidon watched his son for any ill effects now, which he knew was ridiculous, but he couldn’t stop himself. The grey streak in his hair seemed to glow like a beacon now. Constantly pointing out his son’s shortened life span. Although, at this point he would take his son reaching the age to  _ have  _ a shortened life span. At this rate he wouldn’t see eighteen.

**Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis...she spoke in my mind.**

Suddenly Apollo smiled. He knew Artemis would get the job done.

**I was losing the ability...Agggghh-owwwwwwww.**

A few people chuckled. Leo was glad they were reading Percy’s thoughts. He was pretty good at breaking the tension at just the right moment. It was one of the main things Leo had come to appreciate about the son of Poseidon. It would be nice to have someone with a similar sense of humour on the Argo II. He was also glad for this opportunity to get to know Percy better. At Camp he was pretty much a legend and Leo had been pretty nervous to meet the guy. It was good to know they had some common ground and that he wasn’t quite as impossible as the campers made him sound. He certainly lived up to what they had said about his ability but hearing his thoughts, he was also just a regular guy.

**"You fight well for a girl."...I saw the trick coming.**

“Seriously? How can you analyse a fight while holding the sky?” Apollo looked at him in amazement. He wasn’t the only one either. 

“No idea.” Percy shrugged.

“No wonder we can never sneak anything past Percy.” Travis complained.

  
“He can spot everything while literally holding the sky up.” Connor agreed. “Nothing can escape his notice.”

“Some things can.” Rachel muttered to herself. Apparently his observing abilities drew the line as noticing when people  _ liked _ him.

**Atlas's javelin swept...javelin tip for the kill.**

Apollo clenched his teeth and imagined all the many,  _ many _ ways he would make Atlas pay.

**"No!" Zoe screamed...where it lodged like a unicorn's horn.**

There were a few more chuckles while Artemis put her face in her hands. So this was it then. Zoe had died saving her. She knew that was exactly the kind of death Zoe would have wished for but that didn’t make her feel any better.

**Atlas bellowed in rage...flying into the black rocks.**

The Goddess took a deep, ragged breath. Apollo shot her a sympathetic look. He felt quite sorrowful himself. While he had never exactly gotten along with Zoe, he was fond of her simply because she was his sister’s Lieutenant. For the billionth time he wished he had been there.

**I wanted to shout her name...She didn't get up.**

Apollo bit his lip. As did Zeus. He knew it was partly his fault that his daughter was in this state and that thought continued to grate on his nerves. He disliked knowing he was at fault, even only partially. Especially as two of his children were currently in danger. 

**"The first blood in a new war,"...rolled for all I was worth.**

Poseidon breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“How long were you holding the sky?” Apollo demanded.

“Not sure. Only a few minutes. If that.” Percy said. “Time is kind of hard to follow when you’re holding the sky.” Apollo and Poseidon both nodded. A few minutes would not do him too much harm. The sun God still hated that it would have a small cost to Percy but nowhere near the amount it would on Annabeth. She had said she held the sky for something like an hour. He knew if it had actually been that long she would have been dead but it was certainly a lot longer than Percy.

Athena was having similar thoughts and was eyeing the grey patch of hair on her daughter with concern. 

**The weight of the sky dropped...Atlas was trapped under his old burden.**

All of the Gods nodded smugly. 

“Let’s hope he stays there this time.” Clarisse muttered. They didn’t need Atlas escaping again and joining in their upcoming battle.

“I doubt they will be able to find someone else to hold the sky for him.” Chris said. “Luke only did it because he knew Annabeth would take it for him and Artemis would take it for her. Now Kronos won’t use Luke and I guess everybody else would rather die.”

**I tried to stand and fell back again...his pale face glistened with sweat.**

Hermes winced while Zeus’ smug smile widened. 

**He lunged at Thalia...Thalia put her spear point to his throat.**

Zeus opened his mouth to congratulate his daughter and then he spotted her expression. And the tears on her face. He closed his mouth again and sighed. Then he turned to glare at Hermes. After all it was his son who was making his daughter this upset. 

**For a moment, there was silence..."Don't kill him!"**

“What?” Athena asked her daughter. “He is too dangerous to be kept alive.” 

“He would know the enemy plans. He has much useful information.” Hermes put in, trying to ignore his father’s deepening scowl.

“The boy is a traitor and needs to die.” Zeus growled. 

“Knowing their plans could save lives.” Annabeth argued.

“Destroying Kronos’ main pawn would also save lives.” Athena told her daughter. While she did agree that the boy might have useful information he was too dangerous. He would try to sway her daughter and Zeus’ daughter to his side. With time he might succeed. Or he may end up learning of their plans instead. Not to mention Zeus was likely to smite him on site, no questions asked.

**"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"...To please your dad?"**

“Can’t he just shut up.” Jason grumbled. 

**Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear...and then he fell.**

Hermes couldn’t breathe. Was his son dead? Just like that. Something was squeezing his chest. He stared at the floor, picturing the broken body of his son that he had never seen. Instead the image looked like a mixture of his children here, with the features that had been described by Percy, such as the scar. He thought he might be sick.

Zeus smiled triumphantly while Athena thought that was too easy. Nothing in these books had been easy or simple and she didn’t see why this would be different. Somehow, the boy would survive. Kronos had given him enough extra powers. 

**"Luke!" Annabeth screamed...broken form on the rocks.**

Hermes could not longer contain the sob that burst from him. His vision blurred with tears and he could feel his heart cracking in his chest. Zeus looked at him in disdain. The traitor was dead. He should be pleased, son or not. A traitorous voice in the back of his mind told him that he would be devastated if Thalia died, even if she had betrayed them. Betrayal didn’t make their children’s death any easier. Then he shook off this thought. Everyone should be glad the boy was dead. Even Hermes. This was a major blow to his father’s plans.

Connor and Travis exchanged glances.

“Luke is still alive, dad.” Connor said quietly, so nobody but his father and Travis could hear. In a manner of speaking this was true. Luke was now Kronos but his body was still alive. And Percy had said that he thought Luke was still in there as well. 

“What? But..?” 

“We don’t know how but we know he’s alive.” Hermes could breathe again. Relief washed over him and he hugged his sons as tightly as he was able. He beckoned Chris over to join them as well. He left Clarisse and sat by his father’s feet so the God could reach all three of his kids. They stayed in a group hug as Dionysus continued.

**Despite how much I hated him...but that was impossible.**

“What?” Poseidon looked at his son in confusion. “Why would you want him to be alive?” Percy sighed. There was no easy answer to that as he wasn’t even sure himself. 

“I don’t know. I guess a small part of me had always thought that he could be saved. Somehow.”

**The fall was fifty feet at least...grief-stricken as Thalia's.**

Artemis hid her face in her hands. Poor Zoe. 

**Zoe lay in the goddess's arms...sapping her strength.**

“She was so brave.” Artemis whispered to herself. “Foolish...but brave.” Apollo squeezed Percy’s hand once more and then moved over to sit beside his sister. He knew she didn’t approve of openly showing affection but the thought of losing Zoe was too much for her to bear alone. As if to prove his point, Artemis actually clutched at his arm when he sat down. He put his other arm around her and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

**"The stars," Zoe murmured...Artemis was too shocked to stir.**

“You need to move, Arty.” Apollo murmured, simply for something to say. As he had hoped, she raised her head to glare at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me Arty.”

“At least once more.” He gave her a grin. She rolled her eyes but he detected the faintest of smiles on her face. 

**We might've met our doom...swooped down out of the sky.**

“What?” Reyna looked confused.

“Isn’t that something Mr Chase mentioned?” Katie tried to recall. It had only been a chapter or so ago but it felt like forever.

“It’s a kind of plane.” Annabeth said.

**"Get away from my daughter!"...whole group of monsters into scattering.**

“Holy Hera!” Leo cried. “Annabeth you’re dad is awesome!”

“Yeah.” Annabeth gave a watery grin. “He kind of is.” 

“That is one brave mortal.” Ares said with a raised eyebrow. Athena gave a smile. He obviously cared deeply for Annabeth, no matter what issues the two were having.

**"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief...Artemis said with grudging approval.**

“Woah! First Percy, now this mortal. That’s more guys you’ve approved of in one day than in the last millennia.” Apollo gave an amazed laugh.

“It is good to know there are still some halfway decent men out there.” Artemis said, her voice still heavy with grief.

**"Come, We must get Zoe away from here."...them into sulfurous yellow powder.**

“Wicked.” Leo whistled. 

“How did a mortal get celestial bronze?” Hera scowled.

“From Annabeth most likely.” Athena stated.

“Why would she give celestial bronze to a mortal?” Demeter asked.

“He explains shortly.” Percy cut in.

**"That's… my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement..."Get in," Artemis said.**

“Nice. You got to ride the sun chariot and the moon chariot. In the same week.” Katie said enviously. 

“I much preferred the moon chariot.” Percy muttered. At Apollo’s offended expression he smirked. “But that had more to do with the driver at the time.” He added, glancing at Thalia. She stuck her tongue out at him while Apollo looked both relieved and amused.

**Annabeth helped me get Thalia...think that legend came from?"**

“Seriously?” Rachel asked. “Santa’s sleigh came from the moon chariot?” 

“Yes.” Artemis nodded.

**Seeing us safely away...escorted by a Sopwith Camel.**

Most people chuckled.

“I’m so glad I was not there.” Rachel said. She could only imagine how much that image would have messed with her head.

**Behind us, the army of Kronos...under the weight of the sky.**

“The chapter is done. Finally.” Dionysus tossed the book away from him in disgust.

“Right. Let’s have dinner and then an early night.” Chiron announced. Poseidon got up to drag Ares away for a ‘chat’. Apollo spoke quietly with his sister and then got up and went back over to Percy.

“How about some archery practise after dinner?”

“Sure.” Percy nodded. Apollo smiled at him and he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. Maybe being alone with the sun God was not such a good idea but he couldn’t come up with a believable lie. Instead he simply hurried off to get some dinner. For once he was planning on taking his sweet time while eating.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone seemed to be quite excited for this chapter so I hope it lived up to expectations. Just a couple of things, I've had a few comments about pairings. Endgame is indeed Percy/Apollo and Annabeth/Connor. The Annabeth/Connor was actually an idea given to me by a reviewer and has simply sprung up out of nowhere but I like the thought of it. As for whether Percy will turn into a God or not, you will have to find out later...it will be discussed at the end of the fifth book and again later on. As for when Apollo and Percy will get together...I was aiming for roughly the end of the fifth book but they seem to be working on their own timeline and now I'm not sure. Might be anytime now, I haven't decided and probably won't until I actually write it. It'll be as much a surprise to me as to you guys. Makes life interesting. I think that's all the general questions. If anyone has any more then please comment and I will reply, although I may not be able to actually answer your question I will certainly do my best. Happy reading and thank you for all your continued support. I love reading all your comments. It means the world and keeps me writing x


	19. A Friend Says Goodbye

Poseidon grabbed Ares by the arm and manhandled him towards an empty room. He was not going to risk the war God slipping away and escaping this talk. The two Gods stood across from each other, both glaring. Ares’ glare was more bravado than actual anger. He still remembered the old days where Poseidon was far more volatile. It could get very messy.

“You cursed my son because he beat you fairly in a fight.” Poseidon began, voice deadly calm. “It could have cost him his life.” 

“He was disrespectful!” Ares burst out, temper flaring. 

“You had just tried to get him killed. Not to mention you know your aura makes people angry and reckless.” Poseidon stated simply. Ares smirked a little. “But this is far bigger than you simply cursing my son. You cursed the child of the prophecy to fail in battle. Your petty revenge could have been the downfall of Olympus.”

“I left some leeway. It only works if he remembers my curse.” Ares muttered petulant.

“You appear to be missing the point.” Poseidon stated, eyes glinting menacingly. Ares had to fight not to shudder. “Kronos would easily be able to find out about your little curse and could then easily use it against Percy.” Ares frowned. He hadn’t thought about that. As much as he wanted the sea spawn to suffer, he didn’t want Kronos to win.

“The brat deserved it!” He burst out, if only because he didn’t want to admit he might have made a mistake. The brat had been disrespectful and deserved to be punished!

“He deserved to be punished, yes.” Poseidon agreed. “There are many other ways to do that without putting our very existence at risk. That was foolish, petty and downright stupid.” Ares ground his teeth furiously. 

“But war is my domain.” He growled. 

  
“And it is not a domain we can afford the child of the prophecy to be cursed in. Somehow, despite your pettiness, Percy still saved Olympus. That is the only thing stopping me from smiting you right here, right now. Powers or not.” Poseidon stated. He didn’t raise his voice at all but his tone grew so cold that Ares took an involuntary step backwards. “If my son angers you again, you _will_ bring the matter to me and _I_ will deal with it. You are forbidden to _ever_ curse or punish my son. Or you will regret it.” The sea God glared at him threateningly. Ares made to protest and then decided against it. He simply nodded. Poseidon continued to glare until he was sure Ares had gotten the message. “Stay away from Percy.”

“Got it.” Ares scowled in return. “It’s not like I want to go near the br…”

“I dare you to finish that sentence.” Poseidon’s face darkened further. Aress took another step back.

“Anyway, if that’s all, I have matters to attend to.” Ares said quickly. Poseidon considered. He still did not trust Ares but he nodded. The God of war was not entirely stupid. Ares departed immediately as quickly as possible. Poseidon smirked to himself and then decided to go and spend some time in the ocean to calm himself down. He could do with some relaxation after these damn books.

*********************************

After dinner, everybody was feeling too tired to get up to much mischief. Percy went to have some archery practise with Apollo. As soon as the two of them were alone together Percy was on edge. He was so much more aware of the God’s presence. Part of him wanted to mention it. To find out if Apollo was feeling the same way or if whatever this was meant nothing to him. But the larger part simply didn’t want to know. Either Apollo didn’t feel the same way and then Percy would have to deal with the awkwardness that would follow. He didn’t want to lose Apollo’s friendship by being permanently awkward around him because he had a crush the God didn’t reciprocate. Plus, if the God hadn’t settled down in a serious relationship by now, why on Olympus would _Percy_ change his mind. It wasn’t like he was particularly special. On the other hand, maybe Apollo did like him but then what? Percy was a mortal. He certainly didn’t want a brief fling. But he wasn’t sure he could trust the God. All the Gods that were married cheating on their partners with disturbing frequency.

“Drachma for your thoughts.” Apollo said, breaking him out of his musings.

“Ah, they aren’t worth a drachma.” Percy shrugged.

“I’m not sure. Reading these books is comedy gold.” Apollo laughed. Percy stuck his tongue out. Then they got down to business. He was steadily improving at archery. He was never going to be a brilliant shot but he could hit the target on a regular basis. 

Once they had finished practise, they wandered through the palace together. It was comfortable now. Shooting had relaxed Percy. On their travels they heard some loud, off key, singing coming from up ahead. Soon they stumbled upon a huge bonfire. All of the demigods were there, along with a few of the Gods. Will and the other Greek campers were having a sing along. The Romans looked quite amused by this and were happily toasting marshmallows while listening to the songs.

Looking around, Percy saw Katie and Travis cuddling right by Chris and Clarisse. Silena and Beckendorf were with Piper, Jason and Leo. Tyson was with them as well. He and the sons of Hephaestus were busy discussing something quite intently while the girls watched the bonfire. Frank and Hazel sat with Will and Nico, who looked supremely unimpressed as Will continued to pester him about joining in some of the songs. Percy sniggered at the very idea of Nico singing. Hermes was sitting with Connor, Annabeth, Thalia, Reyna and Rachel. Percy found this to be the strangest group by a mile. 

It was a nice, relaxed atmosphere which Percy figured they might as well enjoy. The next book was going to be even worse to read, particularly for Hermes. It also worried him that this would be the last book where they knew what was going to happen. After that they contained the future that would have occured had they not been sent here. Percy wondered whether they would be reading about his death. How many of his friends would die in the war to come? Still, this was not the time for such dark thoughts. He moved to sit with Will, Nico, Frank and Hazel. Apollo didn’t stay, instead mumbling about having something to do. 

“Hey guys.” Percy grinned. He realised he really hadn’t interacted with the Romans much. 

“Hey, Perc.” Will greeted him with a smile.

“Got any marshmallows left?” Percy asked.

“Here.” Frank offered him an opened bag and a stick to toast them on. 

“Thanks man.” They sat and chatted for a while. Percy found he liked both Frank and Hazel quite a lot. He was glad Nico had found another sibling. It might help him feel a little less lonely. Maybe if he didn’t feel like he could stay at Camp Half-Blood, maybe he would be able to go to Camp Jupiter and be with Hazel. At least he would be safe. 

Frank was like no other child of Ares he had ever met, even accounting for Mars being different to Ares. He was actually pretty cool and preferred shooting to melee combat. Frank confessed he had really hoped Apollo would be his dad, something that made Will quite pleased. In the end the two of them decided to have a shooting competition. They dragged Nico, Percy and Hazel off to watch. 

Will won in the end but it was a very close match. Just as they were finishing up, Apollo arrived to tell them all it was bedtime. They were supposed to get an early start the next day.

**************************

The morning arrived and everybody managed to get themselves dressed and have breakfast by half past nine. Which was a record so far. They all filed back into the throne room, eager to resume the reading. 

Dakota looked over at his father who was busy reading a wine magazine, alone on a couch. Taking a deep breath he walked over, Gwen at his side.

“Er...hello, father. Do you mind if we sit here?” He asked nervously. His hands were clammy and he had to stop himself anxiously hopping from foot to foot. Dionysus looked over at his son. It was the first time the boy had approached him while they were here and he very nearly smiled. 

“Please. Go ahead.” He said, gesturing to the seat beside him. It would be nice to spend some time with one of his children. Even if he was a Roman. Dakota sat down next to his father with Gwen on his other side for moral support. It wasn’t much but it was something and Dakota couldn’t help grinning to himself.

Everybody else took up the seats from the day before. Apollo still sat with his sister, guessing Zoe was going to be mentioned.

“I believe it is my turn to read.” Demeter announced. She picked up the book.

**A Friend Says Goodbye**

When Demeter read out the title, Artemis sighed. It seemed Zoe would get a whole chapter dedicated to her death. Still, it made her smile ever so slightly that the boy had come to consider Zoe his friend. 

**We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall...That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"**

“Yeah. It was pretty great to see.” Percy said.

“Mr Chase is awesome.” Piper stated. She desperately wished that her dad could know about their world. It was better now that he was proud of her and they had become closer since the quest. But it still bothered her that her dad couldn’t cope with their world. That she had to hide part of who she was from her own father.

**Her father blushed...Dr. Chase was very careful not to say ran away.**

Annabeth frowned. She wasn’t surprised Percy had noticed, given his ridiculous observational skills, but sometimes she wished he wasn’t so good. 

**"I decided to try melting some down…"Just a little experiment."**

“He melted your weapons down?” Connor asked a little incredulously. “What if you had needed them?”

“I think they went to a pretty good cause.” Chris pointed out. “He did just save their lives with those bullets.”

“I didn’t need them anyway. I just always like to have some weapons on hand just in case.” Annabeth explained. 

**He said it like it was no big deal...He was an excellent mad scientist at heart.**

Athena smiled. She had been wondering what had drawn her to this particular mortal. 

**"Dad…" Annabeth faltered..."I mean… you're a goddess."**

“Some things cannot be healed.” Apollo said gravely. 

  
“Just because of a prophecy?” Percy asked.

“Partly but not always. Some wounds are simply beyond healing.”

**Artemis looked troubled..."Have I… served thee well?" Zoe whispered.**

“She served wonderfully.” Artemis said softly. “With the greatest honor.”

**"With great honor," Artemis said softly...Atlas's fury had broken her inside.**

“That’s pretty brave of her.” Will muttered. “She knew she was going to die but went anyway.”

Nico sighed. Yes, it was brave of Zoe, he just wished she hadn’t dragged Bianca down with her. Part of him knew that it wasn’t entirely Zoe’s fault. Bianca had made her own choices but it was easier to blame the older Hunter. Which he knew he shouldn’t. Holding a grudge against a dead Hunter would do him no good but the loss of Bianca was still so raw that he needed _someone_ to blame. It was better for him to blame the dead rather than the living. That way he wouldn’t hurt anyone in his quest for revenge.

**She saw Thalia...about heroes, men—everything."**

“Hey now.” Percy complained.

“Alright, not about all men.” Thalia agreed. “Besides, even Zoe thought you were tolerable by the end.” 

**"Perhaps not all men,"...I am honored that you carry this sword."**

Percy smiled sadly. He was honoured to carry the sword as well. 

**A shudder ran through her body...They are beautiful tonight."**

The Artemis in the room was also now crying. Apollo sat beside her, giving her a sideways hug. 

“She always loved the stars.” Artemis whispered.

**"Stars," Zoe repeated...Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.**

Everyone lowered their eyes and for a few moments, silently mourned the Hunter. 

**Thalia lowered her head...running across the sky.**

Artemis smiled. “That is the Huntress constellation you spoke of?” She said to Percy, suddenly recalling the conversation where he had mentioned this was his favourite. 

“Yes.” He nodded.

“She would love that.” Apollo told his sister. Artemis nodded. It was why she had done it/would do it. Zoe deserved nothing less.

**"Let the world honor you, my Huntress,"...we would disintegrate by looking at her.**

“I would not lose control.” Artemis stated firmly.

**"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said...You will do what is right."**

“What?” Thalia was confused.

“It’ll probably come up.” Annabeth said with a heavy sigh. She still wasn’t convinced she _had_ made the right choice. Assuming the Goddess was talking about her choice not to go with Luke when he had come to see her.

**Then she looked quizzically at Thalia...first time she hadn't called me a boy.**

Artemis smiled, glad he had understood.

“Wow. You actually won Artemis’ respect.” Will looked impressed. It was fairly clear that the Goddess in this time respected Percy but to have won her respect in both times...that was pretty impressive.

**She mounted her chariot...must say I still prefer Athena."**

Artemis raised an eyebrow while Athena smiled.

**Annabeth turned toward him…I know this isn't easy for you."**

“At least he is being understanding now.” Connor shot Annabeth a smile.

“Yeah. He really was trying.” She nodded. She desperately wished they didn’t live in San Fransico. Although, if they made peace with the Romans maybe it would be considered less dangerous. Sure, Mount Othrys would still be there but with Atlas in chains, if they defeated Kronos it wouldn’t be too dangerous. Maybe she could live with her dad without constantly looking over her shoulder. That would be nice. 

**His voice was a little shaky...two white winged horses and one pure black one.**

“Woah. That really was quick.” Silena said.

“Pegasi can certainly move when they want to.” Percy smiled. He missed Blackjack. 

**"Blackjack!" I called...stay alive okay without me?**

“Barely.” Poseidon muttered.

“Way too many close calls.” Apollo agreed.

“Not sure a Pegasus would have been much help though.” Hermes pointed out.

“He could have taken Percy away from the others so the skeletons would chase him.” Rachel pointed out. “With Blackjack they might have been able to stay away from them.”

“Blackjack couldn’t go forever. Eventually he would get tired and they would have caught up.” Percy told her.

**"It was rough," I admitted...Any of these goons you want us to stampede?**

“He actually said that?” Thalia looked annoyed.

“He was just trying to be helpful.” Percy assured her.

“He offered to stampede us. And called us goons!” Annabeth pointed out. “And at the very least he should know me from around camp.”

“He probably noticed you and Percy arguing all the time. Figured you weren’t friends.” Nico muttered.

“Careful or it’ll be you Blackjack offers to stampede next time.” Percy smirked at him. “Especially after last summer.” Nico grimaced.

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“I bet he would.” Nico sighed. Percy was probably right. Thankfully he was fairly confident Percy wouldn’t let the Pegasus stampede him.

**"Nah," I said aloud...for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"**

“Magic.” Silena laugh. 

“That’s my dad.” Annabeth sighed.

“He’s pretty great.” Leo said with a frown at Annabeth’s tone.

**Blackjack cocked his head...We will keep you safe."**

“Well, he’s just proven he’s pretty capable of doing that.” Chris said appreciatively. 

“Yeah. Making celestial bronze bullets is a brilliant idea.” Clarisse nodded. 

**Annabeth didn't answer...she fell asleep on Porkpie's back.**

“Woah! You must have been exhausted.” Jason exclaimed.

“Yeah. It had been a very long, emotional few days.” Thalia nodded.

**I knew she had to be really tired...Thalia stayed safely on his back.**

Thalia smiled slightly. Honestly, she would rather have slept through the flight than be awake and constantly trying not to look down. Getting a lift from those statues had been bad enough, although she doubted the Pegasi had flown so high.

**Annabeth and I flew along side by side..."Yeah, you said."**

“You don’t sound convinced by that.” Rachel told him.

“I believed Annabeth but at the same time, her dad was pretty cool. Not to mention he was clearly concerned for her. I mean, he flew a plane into an army of monsters to try and help.” Percy shrugged. “It’s hard not to like a guy like that.”

**"You think I was lying...gotten cooler since you saw them last."**

“Or maybe with you at Camp so much they realised that, no matter the issues, they would still rather have you at home.” Connor pointed out. 

“Dad might.” Annabeth acknowledged. She still wasn’t sure about Ella. She had shown some brief concern while her friends were there, and she knew her stepmom didn’t want her hurt. But wanting her home was a different matter. However, she had told Percy to tell her that she had a home with them. Clearly something had changed.

**She hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco..."But thank you for rescuing me."**

“You’d do the same for me.” Percy shrugged. Leo, Jason and Piper exchanged amused looks. If anything, Annabeth was actually worse than Percy had been when it was his turn to go missing. Although that might have been to do with the fact that they were dating in the future. Here they were still just friends. 

**"Hey, no big deal. We're friends."...he isn't dead."**

Hermes smiled while Zeus grumbled. The fall should have killed the boy. If he _was_ alive then evidently Kronos had given him a lot of new powers. That did not bode well for them.

**I stared at her. I didn't know...That comparison didn't make me too happy.**

Rachel laughed. She was beginning to see why Percy and Annabeth weren’t together yet. It appeared that sometimes, Annabeth could be just as oblivious as Percy.

Aphrodite studied the feelings around the room. The feelings between Apollo and Percy seemed to be strengthening. They were definitely requited too. But both Athena’s daughter and the mortal girl had feelings for Percy Jackson as well. She giggled to herself. This was just so much fun.

**The towns were zipping by faster now...We get extra hay for breakfast or what?**

“That is pretty impressive. How come Blackjack could get you from San Fansisco to New York in less than a night easily but he couldn’t follow the van Zoe was driving without getting winded?” Silena wondered.

“Going at full speed is easier.” Percy explained, having asked Blackjack the same thing. “They can use their speed kind of like Centaurs do to travel long distances very quickly. But when following the van he had to go slowly enough to keep an eye on it. And he was flying for longer when we followed the van.” 

**"You're the man, Blackjack,"...He's under Kronos's spell."**

“You only just noticed?” Dakota muttered sarcastically.

“That’s hardly news.” Reyna agreed quietly.

“He went under Kronos’ spell pretty willingly.” Jason pointed out to Annabeth.

“You don’t know that. Kronos spent years infiltrating his dreams and twisting everything.” She cried out. 

**I didn't feel like arguing...she still have any feelings for that creep?**

Annabeth sighed miserably. She knew Percy would never understand. The person most likely to get her point of view was Thalia but she had given up hope on Luke. 

**How could she possibly make excuses for him?...It wouldn't be fair.**

“Life isn’t fair son.” Poseidon told Percy.

“Tell me about it.” Percy grumbled angrily. 

Hermes looked down. He wanted to yell at Percy for daring to wish his son dead and yet Percy had a point. Bianca and Zoe had not deserved to die at all. Nor would they have, had it not been, in part, for his son’s actions. But, Luke’s death would not bring them back. And he did not have it in him to wish for Luke to die. 

**"There it is." Thalia's voice..."The Council of the Gods."**

“Chapter’s done.” Demeter announced.

“How come you got such a short one?” Dionysus complained.

“Luck of the draw.” She told him dryly.

“I think it’s my turn to read next.” Hades said heavily. He took the book from his sister and took a deep breath before beginning to read.


	20. The Gods Vote How to Kill Us

“WHAT?” Poseidon yelled. Zeus clenched his fists. He knew why this would happen, of course he did. The question was, would he have to vote to kill his daughter before she became a Hunter, or was he spared that duty. Because, currently, he could not imagine voting to kill her but in the future...he probably would have done without this interference.

“Why are they voting to kill you?” Athena asked sharply, watching her daughter. She had done nothing wrong. However, she could see why a discussion about killing Percy and Thalia would be needed. Especially with how tempted Thalia was by the Ophiotaurus. That did not mean her daughter had to be in the middle of it.

“You just saved my sister.” Apollo scowled angrily.

“Clearly they didn’t kill us.” Percy pointed out. 

**Flying was bad enough...lightning swirling around it, was even worse.**

Percy and Triton both grimaced. Given that he had been born underwater and had lived there his whole life, Triton hated flying even more than Percy did. In fact, he was likely more on par with Thalia. 

**We circled over midtown...The twisting streets were full of demigods**

“Why would any demigods be up there?” Chris asked.

“Winter Solstice field trip.” Annabeth told him.

“We didn’t ban that after the Hermes kid stole the bolt and the helm?” Ares frowned. Hermes winced. Normally he would be proud of his child pulling off such a daring steal but all this brought him was shame. Ares would have thought his father would have closed off Olympus to all demigods unless they were summoned directly, after being stolen from by one.

“You did the year after it happened. But this year you decided to let some demigods visit, but only a small amount and they couldn’t go anywhere near the throne room.” Annabeth explained. Zeus looked quite unhappy about this. Ares was right. He should have banned them altogether.

**and nature spirits and minor...the glowing white hall of the gods.**

Zeus smiled proudly at the description. Of course this palace would be the best.

**Our pegasi set us down…a few of them would like to.**

Poseidon and Apollo tensed. They knew the Gods obviously didn’t kill Percy but they both wondered exactly who would vote in favour of killing him. Apollo was nervously wondering if he would be one of them. He didn’t think so, given that Percy had just helped to rescue his sister, but he still couldn’t shake the small ball of anxiety that had settled in his gut. Plus, he was hoping that during the after meeting party he would get some time to speak to Percy. He wanted to see how his future self and Percy interacted.

**Hey, if ya don't come back...cabin for my stable?**

“Priorities.” Leo chuckled. A few other people laughed too while Percy sighed. 

**I looked at the pegasus...he said. Sorry.**

“It’s not like you would be using it.” Thalia snickered.

**Blackjack and his friends flew off...across the heavens with her bow drawn.**

Artemis smiled sadly before glancing up at the current sky which did not have such a constellation. She hoped it never would, that they would be able to change enough in the future that the prophecy for that quest never occured.

**All of the seats were occupied...enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble.**

Poseidon smiled at the image. It was a shame the Ophiotaurus was so potentially dangerous. He knew his brother would order its death and would not be persuaded otherwise. He hated it when a sea creature had to die but he doubted there would be any way around this.

**Grover was kneeling at Zeus's...and looked for permission.**

“Good catch.” Rachel muttered to Grover. 

“Yeah. Didn’t want to get fried.” Grover muttered back.

**"Go on," Zeus said...The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia.**

Hera scowled darkly while Zeus nodded to himself. Of course little else would hold his interest.

**Grover trotted over….beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals.**

“I really wish you would…” Aphrodite began.

“No.” Poseidon told her in exasperation. Percy suspected they had had this conversation many times.

“But it…”

“I said no.” The sea God’s tone put an end to the conversation. Aphrodite pouted and went back to plotting how to mess with Percy’s love life.

**He had a weathered...He nodded as if to say It's okay.**

“Thanks for that, dad.” Percy said. It really had made him feel better. Poseidon smiled and ruffled Percy’s hair. He was glad that he had gotten at least one interaction with his son correct.

**Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs...We have voted to act."**

“About damn time.” Hades grunted.

“Even Zeus couldn’t ignore this.” Poseidon told him.

“He probably gave it a damn good try.”

“Of course. We expect nothing less. Admitting there is a problem is too close to admitting he was wrong.”

“I can hear you both.” Zeus glared at his brothers. They both smiled innocently.

**There was some mumbling...but nobody protested.**

“Some of  _ us _ weren’t happy about acting?” Ares asked incredulously.

“Well, clearly some of you inherited your father’s ability to shove your heads in the sand in the hopes it would solve the problem.” Poseidon raised an eyebrow and glanced around the room. He highly suspected Dionysus didn’t want to act. Aphrodite too possibly. Something about fighting, ruining her hair or some such nonsense.

**"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said...before they can join the Titans' cause.**

Apollo and Artemis grinned at each other.

“No more hunting dangerous monsters on your own.” Apollo told her.

“It would seem not.” Artemis sighed. “But if you mess with my Hunters...” She left the threat unsaid.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He smirked.

**Lady Athena shall personally check...send it to the bottom of the sea.**

“Don’t we know that won’t work?” Triton frowned. “Tyson told Percy the ship was protected.”

“Not to mention, dad was fighting a war undersea already.” Percy pointed out.

I’m sure my brother ignored that part.” Poseidon said grimly.

“Or you just didn’t tell him because you knew he wouldn’t care.” Hades suggested. Zeus spluttered but had no real answer to this.

**And as for you, my heroes…"...Would any here deny that?"**

“They’ve done Olympus a great service, so we vote whether or not to kill them?” Poseidon frowned. “If this is how we reward them for rescuing one of our own and putting Atlas back where he belongs...no wonder they join our enemy.” Many of the other Gods shifted uncomfortably. There was a bit too much truth in the sea God’s words.

**She looked around at the...checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone.**

“Good to know you’re paying attention to such an important meeting.” Hera glowered at Hermes.

  
“I’m busy.” Hermes shrugged. “You heard how many emails and messages I had to deal with after a five minuted conversation with Percy. I don’t want to even imagine how many I would have after an entire Council meeting.”

**Apollo leaned back in his...I wasn't sure he was even listening,**

Zeus glared at his son. Apollo simply shrugged. 

“Why were you not listening?” Zeus demanded.

“I don’t know. It’s the future.” Apollo grinned. “But I’d hazard a guess I am listening while listening to music. I can do both.”

**but he gave me a thumbs-up.**

Apollo grinned at Percy who smiled back.

**Dionysus looked bored...blush in spite of myself.**

Aphrodite grinned wickedly while Percy and Annabeth both blushed this time. Apollo scowled at the love Goddess who gave him an innocent look in return. He gulped. She knew. And if she knew, she might tell Percy. Or at least hint to Percy. He wasn’t ready yet. Hephaestus had said the guitar would not be ready until tomorrow. One more day was all he needed to wait until he could put his plan into action.

**All the Olympians in one place..."these kids did okay."**

“See? I’m paying attention.” Apollo said.

“What do you mean okay? We did pretty damn good.” Percy protested.

“Yeah. You did.” Apollo nodded.

**He cleared his throat...anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry.**

“What?” Apollo shot a betrayed look towards his best friend. Hermes shifted uncomfortably, cursing Percy’s observation skills.

“I’m sure I just wanted to get the meeting over with.” Hermes offered weakly. Apollo continued glaring at him. “Oh alright. I agree with your son and the other demigods. Your poetry lately has not been your best. You need to go back a few centuries.” Apollo pouted at his, folding his arms across his chest. 

He looked kind of adorable and Percy wanted to cheer him up but there was no way he was going to tell the God his poetry was alright. Firstly, he was the God of truth so would probably know Percy was lying. And if he did believe him, it meant he would be subjected to more poetry.

**"All in favor of not disintegrating them?"...Demeter, Aphrodite.**

Poseidon smiled gratefully at both of them. Zeus nodded, making sure to take a note of names of Gods who wanted to kill his daughter.

**"Wait just a minute," Ares growled...while we've got them here—"**

Poseidon and Zeus both scowled angrily at the war God.

“Hey. I’m just pointed out what we all know.” Ares shrugged.

“No. We don’t all  _ know _ that. You’re just holding a grudge against Percy.” Apollo told him.

“They  _ are _ dangerous. You saw the girl get tempted by Thorn.” Ares argued.

“We’ve already decided that we will not kill the children.” Hestia put in. “And even if you wanted to, we cannot kill anyone during this reading.”

**"Ares," Poseidon interrupted...We will not blast my son to bits."**

Poseidon nodded, still glaring at Ares.

“Thanks, dad.” Percy grinned.

“You are welcome.” Poseidon told him. “You  _ are _ a worthy hero.”

**"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."**

“Err, thank you, father.” Thalia said awkwardly. Zeus simply nodded, but there was a slight smile on his face.

**Thalia blushed...much less gotten a compliment.**

Poseidon opened his mouth but Percy cut him off.

  
“Don’t worry. We’ve chatted tons here. If you don’t lay off the compliments, I might start to think I’m your favourite.” He shot a smirk towards Triton who simply raised an eyebrow in return and shook his head. But there was amusement in his expression. Poseidon coughed awkwardly.

“I don’t have favourites.” He muttered. 

“Liar.” Triton said, disguising it as a cough. He could already tell that Percy was indeed, his father’s favourite child. A few days ago this would have enraged him beyond belief but now...there was something special about Percy. Triton wouldn’t say he was  _ happy _ about the situation but he didn’t blame Percy either. Poseidon looked at his eldest child and understanding passed between them.

**The goddess Athena cleared her throat...security risk here with the other two."**

“Someone has to fulfil the prophecy sometime.” Apollo told her with an eye roll. “You of all people should know it is not wise to attempt to change Fate or to avoid prophecies.” 

“One had already shown they could not be trusted. If not for her friends, Thalia might well have chosen differently. And the boy...well, at the time I believe that his fatal flaw is loyalty and that is one of the most dangerous.” Athena explained. “I would not trust him to choose saving Olympus over saving his friends.”

“Saving Olympus  _ would _ save his friends.” Aphrodite pointed out.

“Not if one of them had to be sacrificed in order to save Olympus.” Athena argued.

“But we now think his flaw is recklessness so it doesn’t matter.” Apollo snapped. “He has already proven, several times, that he can make the hard choices when required.” 

**"Mother!" Annabeth said...a fact that I find ironic.**

“You’re not the only one.” Hades grumbled. Poseidon glanced at his brother but Hades waved away his concern. They had already spoken on the matter. No need to bring it up again.

**As we know from the...Ares has a point."**

“Who are you calling thickheaded?” Ares glared at Athena.

“If you need to ask then I rest my case.” The wisdom Goddess told him evenly. His glare intensified and he made to stand up but Aphrodite put a hand on his arm. 

**"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"**

“I could have sworn we just heard this argument.” Hermes chuckled.

“It seems we do not change much.” Demeter frowned. She was not sure that was a good thing anymore.

**He started to get up...You seriously want to protect these brats?"**

“They are my charges, so I suppose I should.” Dionysus sighed. Everyone looked at him in complete shock. “What?” He snapped defensively. “I do take my duties seriously.”

  
“Really?” Hermes asked. 

“He does. He has an appalling way of showing it but he does try and protect as many demigods as he can.” Percy said. The wine God looked over at him and some form of truce passed between them. Dionysus had to admit, if only in his own mind, that he  _ might _ have been wrong about the boy. And Percy acknowledged his behaviour towards the God had been unacceptable. 

Dakota smiled towards Percy. He had noticed the son of Neptune’s recent change in attitude towards his father and he appreciated it. 

**Dionysus gazed down at us...think it safest to destroy them?"**

“I do not want them destroyed.” Dionysus spoke up before anyone else could speak about the difference in his choice in the future. “But if Athena believes they truly pose a risk to Olympus then I would choose my home over a couple of demigods.” A few of the others nodded. 

“Why is Athena’s judgement the one you trust the most?” Poseidon asked.

“Wisdom Goddess.” Athena snapped.

“That does not mean you know everything. Nor does it mean you are always correct. Apollo is the God of both prophecy and logic. His judgement should also be taken into account.” Poseidon pointed out. Although, he was a little biased because he knew Apollo wouldn’t vote to kill his son.

“Well, Apollo does not seem to be offering his judgement in this Council.” Athena said unhappily.

“No but I have made my view here clear. And we’ve already made judgement. Stop arguing.” Apollo rolled his eyes.

**"I do not pass judgment,"...then we are no better than the Titans.**

“That is true.” Hermes nodded.

**If this is Olympian justice..."Jeez, you need to lighten up."**

Apollo frowned. That sounded like he wasn’t taking this seriously at all. Considering his sister had just been rescued by these demigods, he should be far more involved in this conversation. He also agreed with Artemis’ point that he wanted no part in that kind of Olympian justice. 

“See, you can never take anything seriously.” Artemis snapped at him.

“Yeah.” He agreed. “But I’m taking it seriously now.”

“Only because…” Artemis lowered her voice. “Only because you have taken a liking to the boy.” Apollo had to fight not to blush.

“Well yes, Percy might be part of the reason but I agree with you about not punishing people who have done Olympus a great favour. They did  _ me _ a great favour by helping to rescue you. I have no idea why I’m so lax about this.” He whispered back. Artemis considered this. It was true. The safety of those he loved was one of the only things that got her brother riled up. He should have been fighting for those heroes to be rewarded, not just Percy but Thalia as well. 

**"Don't call me sis! I will reward them."...We have agreement on that?"**

Pretty much all the Gods nodded, except Poseidon who grimaced.

**A lot of nodding heads...You want to destroy Bessie?"**

“I still can’t believe you called the Ophiotaurus, Bessie.” Triton shook his head at his half brother.

**"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested...Ophiotaurus Bessie?"**

Poseidon shook his head and laughed. Percy certainly was strange but it was nice to have the humour to help break up the darker parts of this tale.

**"Dad," I said, "he's just a sea creature...Poseidon shifted uncomfortably.**

“You don’t want to destroy it?” Zeus turned to his brother accusingly. “You want to use it for yourself!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The Ophiotaurus is a sea creature. It belongs in my realm and I do not like having to destroy creatures of my domain.” Poseidon told his brother, rolling his eyes. “Stop being a paranoid, old, drama queen.” Hades and Demeter let out quiet chuckles. 

**"Percy, the monster's power...It's wrong!"**

Poseidon smiled at his son. If anyone could persuade Zeus not to destroy the creature, it would be his son. He was beginning to think Thalia might be correct. His son certainly had some strange effects on people. He seemed to always get his way but without manipulating people. Whether that be his friends confessing their secrets to him, or being allowed to sneak out of camp or even possibly saving the Ophiotaurus. Maybe this was Fate’s way of making up for his appalling luck in other areas.

**Zeus seemed to consider this...Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"**

“Yes.” Will nodded. 

“Why should we trust you when so many of your fellows have joined the enemy?” Ares asked.

“Because your poor treatment of your own children is  _ why _ most of them joined the enemy.” Chris said angrily.

**"Annabeth is right," Artemis said...I must speak to you privately."**

Everyone looked over to Thalia. 

“Yes.” Was all she said, rolling her eyes for good measure. Artemis smiled. She was certain she had made a good choice. 

**Zeus beckoned Artemis forward...I said under my breath. "Don't."**

“Oh, you thought I was joining?” Annabeth realised. She remembered how flustered and anxious Percy had been and smiled to herself. Now she understood what he was going on about it was quite cute in hindsight.

“Yeah.” Percy nodded.

“I won’t say I wasn’t tempted but I couldn’t do it.” She said. Connor let out a sigh of relief that he couldn’t fully explain at those words while Apollo scowled. It would certainly make his life easier if the daughter of Athena joined the Hunters.

**She frowned at me. "What?"...like you're going to be sick."**

Aphrodite smiled widely. Percy just groaned and let his head flop back on the couch. 

**And that's how I felt...fear in my stomach.**

Now Annabeth couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face.

**And then Artemis turned...Will you join the Hunt?"**

Zeus looked slightly pained at this but somehow he knew it was for the best. His daughter would make a wonderful Huntress.

**Stunned silence filled the room…"My daughter, consider well—"**

Hera hid her scowl. Why couldn’t her husband just let the brat join the Hunt. Given that they would be out hunting very dangerous monsters, there was a reasonable chance the brat would die soon enough.

**"Father," she said...I won't let this prophecy be mine.**

“Sorry, Percy. But I think you’d be much better as the child of the prophecy than me. You don’t care for power. You just want to save your friends and family.” Thalia smiled at him. “If there was anyone I would trust the fate of Olympus to, it would be you.” Percy blushed under the praise. 

“Thanks, Thalia. For what it’s worth, I think you would have made the right choice in the end anyway.” He told her honestly. She smiled gratefully but there was still a shadow of doubt on her face.

**I stand with my sister Artemis...from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago.**

Nico grimaced. He wished his sister had never made that stupid oath.

**"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis...Hug boys, I mean?"**

“Not romantically. I’m allowed to hug my family.” Thalia smiled once more. Percy grinned.

“Yes. The sister I never wanted.”

“Hey now. I don’t think I got the good end of the stick either.” She stuck her tongue out. They both dissolved into laughter.

**"I'm honoring a friend,"...I finally feel like I have a home.**

Zeus sighed. 

**But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy."**

“Gee thanks.” Percy muttered. It was one thing to state that the prophecy wouldn’t be hers. It was quite another to place that on him...even if they thought he had been the only other option at the time.

**"Great," I muttered.**

**"I'm proud to be your friend."**

“Obviously.” Percy told her.

  
“Getting less proud.” She replied. He smirked.

**She hugged Annabeth...all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.**

Grover blushed while Thalia laughed and then stopped, frowning suddenly.

“Don’t tell me you suddenly developed a weird crush on me just because I became a Hunter?” She asked Grover.

“N..no.” He replied a little too quickly. Thalia groaned and put her face in her hands.

**Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side...Even if we spare the boy—"**

“I don’t really care. Great power isn’t really my thing.” Percy shrugged. “I wouldn’t sacrifice Bess...the Ophiotaurus.” 

“True. Percy wasn’t tempted even once.” Poseidon pointed out. His son had to be one of the very few demigods who would almost prefer to have less power than more. The only reason he would want to be more powerful would be to protect someone. And even then...he’d probably try to give it back afterwards.

**"No." I looked around at all the gods...or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus.**

“That’s not a bad idea.” Poseidon nodded.

“You’re not taking him under the sea.” Zeus shot back immediately.

  
“I meant the aquarium on Olympus.” Poseidon rolled his eyes.

“Yes. Not a bad solution.” Apollo nodded.

“Olympus has been stolen from before.” Ares stated, glancing at Hermes who glared at him.

“And one would hope we have improved our security since. Especially if we were to put the Ophiotaurus there.” Poseidon said. 

**But you have to protect him."..."Much can change in two years, my young hero."**

“That’s true.” Athena agreed with herself.

**"Mother!" Annabeth said...And I can help it."**

Poseidon nodded. It was about time he said something.

**He held out his hand…"I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."**

All of the Gods stared at Poseidon in surprise. While they knew he would defend Percy, to officially vouch for him in front of all the Gods was no small thing. Poseidon simply smiled. He knew that move was a good idea. Not only would it protect Percy from whatever trouble his mouth got him into, it would show Percy just how much he trusted him.

**"You won't take it under the sea!”...bargaining chip in your possession."**

“Really, brother?” Poseidon rolled his eyes.

“I agree with Zeus on this one.” Hades muttered. Poseidon raised an eyebrow while Zeus looked taken aback. “He might be an idiot, but it is not a good idea for anyone to have such a powerful creature in their realm. Olympus is neutral territory.” 

Zeus glared at Hades for calling him an idiot but Poseidon nodded. Hades did make sense. 

**"Brother, please," Poseidon sighed...room with the smell of ozone.**

“Really?” Demeter looked over at Zeus in exasperation. “You couldn’t have just said it has to stay on Olympus? Nooo, you just had to add the theatrics.” 

**"Fine," Poseidon said...I vouch for this on my honor."**

“Thank you, father.” Percy said formally. He knew his father had taken a great risk in vouching for him in such a way. 

“Always.” Poseidon nodded. All the other demigods exchanged looks. They wondered if their parents would vouch for them in a similar way. Most of them didn’t think so. The Gods might back their children generally but not many would stake their honour on it. Some of them were a little jealous but the others figured the Gods had a reasonable reason not to do so. Many of their children had already betrayed them. Given that they spent so little time with their kids they would not be able to safely say which would betray them and which wouldn’t. Of course, not spending time with their kids was the God’s fault but in the current state of things, they couldn’t blame them for not staking their honour on them staying loyal.

**Zeus thought about this...Dionysus abstained.**

Poseidon glared.

“Is my word not good enough for you, nephew?” He asked. HIs voice was calm but Dionysus gulped anyway.

“I’m sure I was protesting more about the creature than the boy. It simply makes no sense to keep it alive.” Dionysus muttered. Poseidon pursed his lips but figured there was nothing he could do about Dionysus’ choice now. He had not technically made it yet. Well, this Dionysus hadn’t anyway. 

**So did Ares and Athena.**

Annabeth sighed while Poseidon’s glare turned to Ares. He knew Athena’s reasoning. Ares, while he probably agreed with that, mostly wanted to kill his son because he held a pretty grudge. 

**But everybody else…Let the triumph celebration begin!"**

“You got to attend a celebration on Olympus?” Reyna asked, feeling incredibly jealous of the Greeks now.

“Yeah. Olympian parties are awesome.” Percy grinned.

“Of course they are.” Dionysus scoffed.

“I can’t believe we missed a party.” Connor groaned.

“Why weren’t you there. You guys are year rounders aren’t you?” Jason asked.

“We decided to stay behind.” Travis said with a grimace. “What with Luke and all.” Jason nodded, feeling bad for the brothers. It wasn’t their fault Luke was a giant prat. 

Hermes frowned.

“Nobody said you couldn’t come, did they?” He asked. If anybody had banned his children simply because one turned to Kronos’ side, two, he reminded himself, then there would be hell to pay.

“No. Chiron made sure we knew we would be welcome but we just figured we should stay behind.” Connor explained. “We helped look after the younger Campers who couldn’t go on the trip.” Hermes nodded, not happy but at least it had been their choice.

**There are parties...Just requests to crank it up.**

“That’s really useful.” Will said.

“Yeah. One less thing for the Gods to fight about.” Nico chuckled.

“I’ve just realised,” Will frowned. “Percy never mentioned your dad being there. The winter solstice is the one time Hades  _ should  _ be around.” Nico frowned.

“Yeah. It’s not like Percy would have missed him. Maybe he didn’t want to attend.” Nico said.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Hazel wondered. Nico shrugged. He wondered if his father had been mourning Bianca. Or if he simply didn’t bother attending meetings these days, especially after his helm had been stolen.

**Dionysus went around...Dionysus looked happy for the first time.**

The Greek campers who hadn’t been there tried to imagine Mr D being happy. It was a weird thought. 

Dakota looked up at his father. It made him sad that this was the first time in like two years that Percy had seen his dad looking happy. 

**Nectar and ambrosia overflowed..."Pan! Pan!"**

Grover blushed as a few people chuckled good naturedly. It seemed stupid looking back but back then it had been the only lead he had. 

**Gods kept coming over...Hermes started chatting with me,**

Hermes grinned at Percy.

**and he was so cheerful...Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away.**

Now the God let out a sigh. He was glad he had gotten that call. Especially as Percy had probably been planning to tell him Luke was dead which he now knew wasn’t true.

The other Hermes kids all grimaced at Luke being their dad’s favourite despite everything he had done. 

**Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time,**

“Apollo!” Zeus said warningly. 

“Hey, Percy isn’t afraid of heights. He’ll be fine.” Apollo said excitedly.

“Look at you, flirting with Percy.” Artemis teased her brother, giving him a smirk. Apollo went bright red. All the other Gods took this in stride, they were quite used to Apollo’s flirtatious nature and thought nothing of it. Poseidon gave Apollo a knowing look while Will looked like he might be ill. He still couldn’t get his head around that idea. 

Percy however stared at Apollo in shock. His reaction and lack of denial suggested he  _ had _ been flirting, even in the future. But did that mean...had Apollo been actively  _ trying _ to flirt with him in this time? Did that mean the sun God might actually feel the way Percy did. His heart skipped a beat at that idea while his stomach seemed to twist itself in knots. Half of him desperately wanted it to be true and the other half kept bringing up all the reasons why dating a God would be a terrible idea. Mostly that he didn’t really want to be immortal...or did he? Was that even an option? Plus the Gods were pretty fickle. Apollo might be flirting with him now for a few days but it was probably just a passing thing. Percy shook his head. This was definitely an awful idea. But then...weren’t awful ideas that should never work basically his thing?

He noticed that Apollo was definitely avoiding looking in his direction and he grinned to himself. That seemed like further confirmation. He couldn’t stop a pleased smile crossing his face.

**and if I ever wanted archery lessons—**

“Or even if I don’t want them.” Percy grinned.

“You know you wanted them really.” Apollo said, still not quite meeting Percy’s eye. He cursed his sister for her stupid comment. He didn’t want Percy to know yet. Although, it was good to know his future self had also taken a liking to Percy.

**"Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery."**

“Hey, you’re getting pretty good now.” Apollo told him with a smile. 

“It was hard to be worse than he already was.” Beckendorf laughed.

**"Ah, nonsense," he said...Best fun there is!"**

Apollo made a mental note to try that with Percy some time.

**I made some excuses...You've done well."**

Percy’s grin grew even wider.

**His praise made me uneasy.**

Poseidon frowned. Why would praising Percy make him uneasy. Maybe his son felt he hadn’t really done much? That would be about right.

**I mean, it felt good...let the others disintegrate me.**

Ahh, Poseidon realised that Percy now felt under even more pressure than he already had done. He felt a little guilty for that but it had needed to be done.

“Never.” He promised.

“I know that.” Percy smiled.

**"I won't let you down,"...if he had some doubts.**

“None at all.” 

“You don’t know that. Your future self might have had doubts.” Percy pointed out.

“If my future self had doubts he would not have done it.” Poseidon told him firmly. “I have complete faith in you and I always will.” Percy nodded. That did make him feel better.

**"Your friend Luke—"...rude to interrupt. "Sorry."**

Poseidon chuckled. 

**"Your former friend Luke,"...things like that.**

Annabeth frowned? She hadn’t known Luke to ever tell his father he wouldn’t let him down. Maybe Poseidon meant her and Thalia? He must have done. 

**He was Hermes's pride and joy...Even the bravest can fall."**

The Gods were nodding, looking grave. Hermes sighed heavily.

**"Luke fell pretty hard,"...They will fight to protect him."**

“That’s not good.” Triton said worriedly. There were quite a few old spirits that could help. If even half of them agreed to aid the Titans there would be trouble.

“No. It is not.” Poseidon said heavily.

**"How can he be alive?" I said...He is more dangerous than ever.**

Percy thought about what Nico wanted him to do. Maybe that was what Luke had done. 

**And the golden coffin..."Luke is… an interesting case."**

“But it would have helped him to know he wouldn’t be holding it long.” Will pointed out.

“He couldn’t have been positive Annabeth would agree to take it for him.” Connor disagreed.

“He pretty much could.” Travis told his brother gently. “It is fairly obvious how Annabeth feels about him and Luke knows her well enough to know how to manipulate her.” 

**I think he wanted to...over the top of the crowd,**

Triton and Poseidon both looked disdainful at the treatment of the Ophiotaurus.

**"I'd better take care of that,"..."Your father takes a great risk, you know."**

“I’m well aware.” Percy noted sharply.

**I found myself...I guess I didn't hide it very well.**

“Probably not.” Annabeth laughed.

**She smiled dryly..."I concede the point.**

“Wow. You  _ do _ have magic powers.” Thalia snickered. Athena glared at her.

“Oh shut up.” Percy rolled his eyes.

**You may perhaps be useful...lure you into Kronos's traps.**

“Annabeth’s kidnapping wasn’t deliberate, he wanted Bianca and Nico. And when his mother was taken Percy made the correct choice.” Poseidon pointed out. 

**Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy...you would sacrifice the world.**

“No. He wouldn’t.” Triton disagreed, studying his brother. Percy did understand when sacrifice was necessary. He didn’t like it but nobody really did. 

“No. He usually does both.” Thalia smiled at Percy.

“That will not always be the case.” Athena warned.

**In a hero of the prophecy...that is very hard indeed."**

A few people nodded while most of the Gods rolled their eyes at Athena. 

**I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty darn smart.**

Annabeth laughed while Athena looked smug.

**"I hope the Council's...maybe even my father.**

Poseidon looked offended by this while Athena nodded.

  
“Do not underestimate your father.” Hestia warned quietly. “He may have mellowed with age but when his anger does rise, there is no force on this earth that could stop him.” 

Ares and Dionysus now looked offended that Hestia would defend Poseidon as an enemy but not them. Poseidon, Triton and Percy all nodded.

**Athena would never give up...it would not fail.**

“I wouldn’t be so sure about the not doing something just because she hated you. You have heard some of the old stories, yes?” Apollo asked. 

“Yeah.” Percy nodded. None of those stories made the Gods look good to be honest. It was mostly them cursing mortals for things that weren’t actually the mortals fault. Or the mortal did do something so the Gods punished them way beyond what normal people would deem appropriate. Plus the punishment usually created monsters that then attacked the God’s children...like Arachne.

**"Percy!" Annabeth said...I'd been punched in the gut.**

Annabeth let out a quiet groan and felt a brief spark of annoyance toward her mother. Just when Percy might finally have said something, her mother had to persuade him not to. 

Apollo cheered inwardly, thanking Athena inside his head. Aphrodite pouted and she wanted to yell at Athena. Still, no confession meant more awkward tension and more chances to mess with Percy. Maybe this wasn’t all bad news.

**I do not approve of your...I think I owe you a dance."**

“Better than nothing.” Thalia whispered to Annabeth.

“Yeah.” She sighed.

**She smiled slowly...but maybe a little hopeful, too.**

Aphrodite let out a quiet squeal of happiness.

“Chapter’s done.” Demeter announced.

“Me next then.” Hades said.

“Er...maybe someone else should read next.” Percy said. He knew the only other thing that had happened that winter was telling Nico that Bianca had died.

“Why is that?” Hades asked.

“I still have to tell Nico…” Percy replied awkwardly. Hades nodded. He did not particularly want to read about that topic. 

“I will read.” Hestia offered. She took the book from Demeter.


	21. I Gain a New Enemy for Christmas

“Not another one?” Poseidon groaned.

"You need to stop collecting those." Apollo told him.

“This one wasn’t too bad.” Percy grinned a little. Nico groaned. He figured the new ‘enemy’ would be him. 

**Before I left Olympus...Tyson, under the sea.**

Tyson grinned toothily. He always loved it when Percy called.

**I told him about our adventures...I missed having Tyson around.**

“I missed you too, brother.” Tyson told Percy with a wide grin.

“You’ll have to come and stay at Camp again when the war is over.” Percy said. Tyson nodded.

**"Seriously?" I asked...forty-one magic swords,"**

“Good work, Tyson.” Poseidon smiled at his son. Percy was worried Tyson’s face might actually split in two with how widely he was beaming at the praise.

“Thank you, daddy.” Tyson replied, almost vibrating in his seat.

**Tyson said proudly...I will visit camp!"**

“It was a good job you did.” Annabeth said. Tyson nodded happily. He was glad he had been able to free Briares. 

**We talked for a while..."Upper East Side, Manhattan."**

“At least you didn’t wait a couple of days this time.” Annabeth sighed. Percy grinned at her.

**The mist shimmered...with her friend Mr. Blowfish.**

Everybody chuckled.

“Do you call him that to his face?” Rachel asked in amusement.

“No, now I call him Paul.” Percy shrugged. 

**I felt so embarrassed...Tell me what's happened!"**

“That’s a long story and the dude is only going to find a journal.” Chris said.

“I gave the cliff notes version.” Percy grinned.

“Well, Percy is the one who could sum up a ten year war in one sentence so he is pretty good at the whole cliff notes thing.” Annabeth said in amusement. Percy just shrugged.

**I filled her in as quickly as I could..."Mom, are you happy?"**

Poseidon smiled at his son. 

**The question seemed to take...Don't worry about me."**

“You’re a good guy, Percy Jackson.” Rachel told him with a smile. Pretty much everyone in the room nodded. Ares just glowered and Dionysus’ nod was so slight that only Dakota noticed.

“I…” Percy began.

“Shut up, seawe...Jackson. Just accept the compliment.” Annabeth told him. Percy laughed.

**The funny thing was, I meant it...her powers had scared me worse than Ares.**

Aphrodite giggled while Ares glowered even more. 

**But seeing my mother...not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.**

A few people laughed.

“I wouldn’t do it to his face.” Percy smirked. 

**I shrugged..."If you're not too old for that."**

“You’re never too old for candy!” Connor and Travis exclaimed.

“Agreed.” Leo, Percy and Rachel nodded at the same time.

**"I'm never too old for candy."...my mom really was pretty cool.**

“Yeah.” Thalia agreed. 

**Compared to Mount Olympus...off on their next adventure.**

“Sorry, guys.” Thalia apologised.

“It’s ok. We understood.” Annabeth assured her.

**Chiron greeted us at the Big House...secretive scouting mission.**

Chris tensed up a little. He was not looking forward to reading about the Labyrinth at all. Clarisse looked at him in concern but he shook his head.

**I knew she must've had...attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.**

Clarisse glared at him.

“Hey! That’s what it looked like.” Percy put his hands up.

**"I got news," she mumbled uneasily...Rachel Elizabeth Dare.**

Rachel grinned happily while Annabeth scowled. 

“Well, you’ll be in the next book I guess.” Percy told Rachel. She nodded, smile going even wider.

**I didn't know why...when they blow their nose?**

“I didn’t actually kill you.” Percy pointed out.

“Details, details.” Rachel laughed.

**I was only alive because...I'd never even explained to her who I was.**

“You made it up to me later.” Rachel told him.

**"Luke is alive," I said...more years to figure something out."**

“Year. Now we have like a week.” Percy sighed.

“These books will tell us how to win.” Annabeth reminded him.

**I had a feeling that when...which annoyed me even more.**

Annabeth went red. It never ceased to surprise her how much Percy noticed but didn’t say.

**Chiron's expression was gloomy...he was really old,**

“Thank you for that.” Chiron told Percy but the twinkle in his eye gave away that he wasn’t mad.

“It’s true.” Percy reminded him. “Plus, I didn’t say it out loud.” 

**but he usually didn't look it...Kronos's first strike will be here."**

All of the Greek campers looked down. He had struck their Camp and they had lost many good demigods. Brothers and sisters. All of the Gods eyed them warily. They felt certain they were not going to like what was to come. Knowing they would end up victorious was one thing. Reading, in detail, about the price that victory had cost, was something else entirely.

**"How do you know?" I asked…gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply.**

All of the Gods grimaced at that. It might be true but to hear it put so bluntly made them uncomfortable. Especially as they had gotten to know some of their children.

**"Destroy the tools...his cheeks bright red from the cold.**

Nico sighed while Percy looked at the floor. He had hated this conversation, and the results.

**He was smiling, but he looked...to tell Nico in person.**

“Thanks for that.” Percy grumbled. 

“I am sorry, Percy.” Chiron frowned. It had been wrong to make Percy tell Nico about his sister. Chiron himself should have been the one to do it.

**That was the last thing I...I was only making things worse.**

“You kind of were.” Nico admitted. “But honestly, silence would have been just as bad.” Percy nodded.

**"She wanted you to have this."..."You promised you would protect her," Nico said.**

“He promised he would try.” Reyna corrected.

“I know that now.” Nico snapped. He just wanted to get through this quickly. He wasn’t looking forward to the next book either. 

**He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger.**

“Sorry.” Nico muttered.

“You were right.” Percy told him quietly. 

**It would've hurt less than...My nightmares were right!"**

“Nightmares?” Hades looked at his son in alarm. Had Kronos been trying to recruit Nico?

“Yeah. Don’t worry. Everything is sorted now.” Nico told his dad. He did not want to explain now. Hades did not look reassured but by a squeeze from Persephone, he consented to speak to Nico about it later.

**"Wait. What nightmares?"..."I don't know for sure—"**

False hope is probably the worst thing you could give him right then.” Poseidon told his son gently. “You knew Bianca was dead, deep down.” Percy nodded. He looked apologetically at Nico who waved this away. He had known anyway.

**"She's dead." He closed his eyes...I recognized all too well.**

“How did they get into Camp?” Reyna asked, eyes wide.

“Don’t know.” Percy shrugged. All of the Gods looked at each other. They would need to find out if other monsters could do the same thing. Then Percy wondered if they had used the Labyrinth. It would make sense. They could have used his scent to navigate the place.

**I drew my sword and Nico gasped..."You brought these… these things?"**

“Why would Percy do that?” Will asked.

“I wasn’t thinking right.” Nico grumbled. Will squeezed his shoulders supportively.

**"No! I mean, yes, they followed me..."No!" He pressed his hands to his ears.**

“Listen to your cousin.” Hades muttered.

**I couldn't fight four at once...zombies overpowered me.**

Poseidon tightened his grip on Percy. 

**"No!" Nico shouted louder...earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!**

“What the heck?” Dakota asked in awe. Everyone turned to look at Nico with newfound awe and a little bit of wariness. That was a lot of power. Nico himself had put his face in Will’s shoulder to avoid all the stares. He wasn’t proud of how he had behaved then or the next summer.

“How did you do that?” Will wondered curiously.

“Nico is pretty powerful.” Percy grinned proudly.

“That’s some serious power.” Jason agreed, watching the son of Hades. He certainly didn’t look like much, he was way scrawnier than Percy even with being younger, but it seemed he was pretty powerful. 

“That is really cool and  _ really _ terrifying.” Leo stated. A few people nodded in agreement with that statement.

The Gods exchanged looks. It was bad enough that Percy was as powerful as he was. They did not need another super powerful child of the Big Three. Nico had shown a lot of control over his powers with almost no training. Many of them were convinced that this was not a good sign while Hades simply fumed. He guessed the direction of his family’s thoughts and it annoyed him. 

**Silence..."I hate you! I wish you were dead!"**

“Sorry, Percy.” Nico stated quickly. “I don’t hate you and I’m really,  _ really _ glad you’re not dead.”

“Is that because then you’d be the prophecy child?” Percy grinned.

“Yeah.” Nico nodded. “But I don’t want you dead regardless.”

“I know.” Percy smiled at him.

“Weren’t you tired after using that much power?” Will asked, a little worried.

“Yeah but it didn’t hit me ‘till later.” Nico told him. “I got out of Camp and then crashed somewhere.” 

**The ground didn't swallow me up...heading toward the woods.**

“How did you get out of the Camp?” Clarisse asked Nico.

“Err...I used the entrance.” He muttered. She nodded, grimacing a little.

“How did you know it was there?” 

“My dreams.” He explained. The Gods all looked very confused by this conversation but nobody enlightened them. They would find out soon enough.

**I started to follow but slipped...A last gift from his sister.**

“I still have it, if you want it.” Percy told Nico.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if you’d want it back.” 

“I think I do.” Nico nodded at last. While Bianca had died for the stupid thing, it was her last gift to him. He should keep it.

**I stared at it with dread...Lord of the Dead.**

“So the statue just happened to be of their dad?” Artemis asked slowly. 

“Yep. It was the only one I didn’t have.” Nico shrugged. A few of the Gods frowned. 

**Annabeth and Grover..."what do you mean… no?**

“Yes...what do you mean, no?” Chiron asked.

“I didn’t want it to spread that Nico was a son of Hades.” Percy said. “I wasn’t sure if you would tell Mr D who would tell all the other Gods.”

**I was still trying to figure..."I don't think Hades broke the oath."**

Hades nodded, shooting glares at his brothers.

**"What?"..."That's the last thing we need."**

“There is that too.” Percy said. 

“You can’t hide that sort of thing forever.” Reyna told him.

“I was aiming for hiding it for two years.” Percy shrugged. “Until I could fulfil the prophecy.” 

**Grover looked worried...It might be about Nico.**

“He’s younger than Percy, though.” Will pointed out.

“Yeah but if anything happened to Percy then Nico would be next in line.” Annabeth reminded him.

**We have to—"...It will be about me."**

Poseidon sighed. He admired his son for taking the prophecy on but he still wished it could be someone else.

**"Why are you saying that?"...responsible for the whole world?"**

“No. I don’t  _ want _ to.” Percy said. “But someone has to be.” 

**It was the last thing I wanted..."I can't let Nico be in any more danger,"**

“Thank you.” Nico said sincerely.

“You’re welcome.” Percy smiled at him.

“Yes. Thank you.” Hades said to his nephew. While he did want his son to save the world and prove that his children were good, losing Bianca changed his perspective. He didn’t want to lose another child to a prophecy. He felt bad for Poseidon, Percy didn’t deserve to die either, but he was selfish.

**I said. "I owe that much to his sister...that poor kid suffer any more."**

“You didn’t…” Poseidon began.

“I know that now.” Percy said. “But I still felt responsible for Nico.” Nico looked down in shame. He had been nothing but horrible to Percy and here he was, still trying to keep Nico safe. All he had wanted to do was help. Nico wished he had known this earlier, that they had read the books earlier.

**"The poor kid who hates you...Namely, me."**

“That’s a very dangerous strategy.” Apollo told Percy, voice rising a little with concern.

“Yeah but he was going to be going after me anyway. If I could keep that attention then maybe Nico would remain undiscovered.”

**I wasn't sure Chiron believed the story Annabeth and I told him.**

“I didn’t.” Chiron confirmed. He looked at them both sternly. While he did understand their reasoning, he was disappointed that they didn’t trust him enough to tell him anyway. 

**I think he could tell I was holding..."Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters.**

“What?” Hades glared at the Centaur.

“I only meant that that would be a better fate than being recruited by Kronos.” Chiron tried to placate the angry God. Chris grimaced. He wondered if they had thought about him like that. Hoping he was dead rather than a traitor. He decided he didn’t want to know.

**Much better than being recruited...try to keep your mind on school.**

“Well that didn’t happen.” Percy muttered.

**And rest. You will need rest."..."I'm going to try San Francisco after all.**

Athena smiled at her daughter. She was pleased that Annabeth was going to give her father another chance.

**Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam...And no crazy stunts in the Sopwith Camel."**

A few people laughed. 

“I don’t think Annabeth is the one we need to worry about.” Connor chuckled.

“Yeah, stopping her dad is another story though.” Will grinned. Annabeth pulled a face. She didn’t want to think about the amount of times she and Ella had had to talk her dad out of his more crazy ideas.

**She smiled tentatively. "Deal...like he'd seen a specter.**

“Sorry guys.” Grover grimaced.

  
“That’s cool. Your news was pretty important.” Percy assured his friend. Grover nodded.

**"He spoke.'" Grover cried..."The Lord of the Wild himself.**

“He actually spoke to you?” Hermes asked eagerly. 

“Yes.” Grover nodded. Hermes noticed the Satyr didn’t seem very excited about it which made Hermes uneasy. However he just assumed that they hadn’t managed to find his son yet. Pan was obviously very well hidden to have not been found after all this time.

Grover did not want to be the one who told Hermes that Pan had faded but he knew he would find out sooner or later.

**I heard him! I have to...'I await you...'"**

Hermes nodded to himself. Grover was obviously Pan’s chosen Satyr. The one who would finally find him after all this time.

“The chapter is done.” Hestia said. “And so is this book.”

“Let us take a five minute break before starting the next one.” Chiron suggested. Everyone nodded their agreement and went to stretch their legs. 


End file.
